“Iran nuclear deal isn’t a bad deal after all; it’s no deal” reads the Investor’s Business Daily headline of an article in which Obama’s pet deal with Iran is termed a “charade.” If you read my article published last Thursday, you know that the Obama Administration has admitted that the nuclear deal (JCPOA) is not legally binding. This unfortunate truth was revealed in a letter sent to a concerned Senator after he had asked Secretary of State John Kerry why the document remained unsigned.
So the fact of the matter is, JCPOA has no legal force. Since when are diplomatic agreements with other countries left unsigned? Since Obama was elected, apparently.
I don’t remember Obama ever mentioning the fact that Iran would not be required to sign the document. But according to a letter written by the State Department earlier this month: “The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is not a treaty or an executive agreement, and is not a signed document.” The letter continues, noting that it does not matter “whether it is legally biding or signed.”
What does matter, according to the letter, are “the extensive verification measures we have put in place and Iran’s understanding that we have the capacity to reimpose – and ramp up – our sanctions if Iran does not meet is commitments.” But in reality we’ve agreed to let Tehran inspect its own facilities…and I highly doubt sanctions will be reimposed, considering that doing so would reveal Kerry and Obama’s deal as a failure (to those of us who haven’t figured that out yet).
In response to the question “Will companies that sign contracts with Iran be able to continue that business even if Iran violates the JCPOA and snapback occurs because of a grandfather clause?” the White House answered, “No. There is no grandfather clause in the JCPOA…no exemptions from our sanctions for long-term contracts.”
But if the document isn’t signed, what does it matter?
Iran knows that the unsigned document has no power. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani advised his parliament to refrain from approving the deal in August because “it will create an obligation for the government. It will mean the president, who has not signed it so far, will have to sign it,” he said. “Why should we place an unnecessary legal restriction on the Iranian people.”
Author’s note: Considering Hassan’s words, it seems that Iran hasn’t taken the document seriously from the beginning. To Iran, the JCPOA is a big joke with a hefty bonus. The only thing the deal actually accomplished was providing Iran with millions of dollars and the power to become a true nuclear power.