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Negotiations with Iran Must Address Iranian Sponsorship of Terrorism

(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Matthew Levitt - The debate around the Trump administration's current negotiations with Iran focuses on curtailing or terminating Iranian uranium enrichment. But Iran's sponsorship of terrorism should be central to the talks as well. After President Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum in February reinstating "maximum pressure" on Iran, a White House fact sheet stated that the goal included not only denying Iran "all paths to a nuclear weapon," but also "countering Iran's malign influence abroad." Iranian support for terrorism was also a central component of Trump's decision in 2018 to pull out of the Obama deal - the JCPOA. As long as any new deal is limited to the nuclear portfolio and does not cover Iran's other illicit activities, some sanctions will remain in place. There is a wide array of international sanctions on Iran which are intended to punish it for its support of terrorism, human rights abuses, and other issues. Iran cannot enjoy the economic benefits it seeks while under sanction, and some sanctions will remain in place so long as Iran continues to engage in these illicit activities. The only way to square this circle is to expand negotiations to include not just nuclear weapons but Iranian sponsorship of terrorism as well. The writer is director of the Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute.
2025-04-29 00:00:00
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