By: Blake Wilson

In 2015, President Barack Obama and other world leaders finalized a denuclearization deal with Iran. In exchange for massive financial support, Iran agreed to surrender the majority of their nuclear capabilities and technology.  Although there were many different opinions and viewpoints about the deal, President Trump had the final say and withdrew America in 2018. This was the right decision, because under Obama’s deal Iran could still pursue other deadly programs such as ballistic missiles, they could exploit the eight and fifteen year expiration dates of the agreement, and the people assigned to monitor Iran had limited inspection ability and permission.

The agreement created the prohibition of only nuclear development. However, there are many other forms of weaponry that can be deadly and catastrophic. Iran will be able to develop almost all of these other forms freely after eight years. One of these include ballistic missiles, which fly up into the air and, upon locking onto a target, dive down towards it, following a roller coaster like pattern. They are also cheap to build as they require less fuel. They are only propelled throughout the altitude gaining part of their flight and once they are at their peak the engines are shut off and gravity is used to pull them back down to their destination.  Pursuit and development of a ballistic missile program will allow Iran to almost bully or control any inferior countries near them. Similar to the ballistic missile, the cruise missile is guided but follows a straight pattern without flying directly up. It is also powered throughout its entire flight, always making adjustments and being guided. This enhances its precision, but linearly raises the expense due to the increased consumption of fuel.

Eight and fifteen years are small amounts of time in the world of politics. Grudges and objectives remain the same after that span. If Iran was angry at another country when the deal was enacted then they only have to wait eight years if they want to develop missiles and fifteen years if they want those missiles to be nuclear. Also after the expiration date, all of the Iranian leaders who were fighting during the 1990s and who are the reasons for the deal will have stepped down from their positions of power. There is a strong chance that the new leaders will be ready to test out their untouched nuclear capabilities and start stocking up on weapons.

Although Obama’s deal promised complete surveillance of all Iran’s weapon sites and factories, the truth is far from that. In reality, if the site inspectors have reasonable suspicion of non-compliance, their only way to take action is to file an access request to the site that can take up to 24 days to grant. Iran workers can easily take the time they need to hide or ship away illegal weapons and then confirm the request. Whether Iran confirms it on the seventh day or the 24th the inspectors have no choice but to wait.