Not only is President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran not formal treat, which means he didn’t need Congress to ratify it, now the State Department says its not even legally binding. The New York Post,
National Review reports that Julia Frifield, the assistant secretary for legislative affairs, recently wrote just that to Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.). It’s merely a “political commitment,” she says.
But a commitment that Iran refuses to sign. President Hassan Rouhani last summer specifically ordered his parliament not to approve the agreement — er, commitment — because then he’d have to sign it. And that, he said, would “create an obligation for the government.”
“Why should we place an unnecessary legal restriction on the Iranian people?” he asked. Why indeed? Especially since, according to him, all sides agreed Iran would implement the terms voluntarily.
Frifield says the deal’s success doesn’t depend on its being signed or legally binding. But how do we ensure Iran’s compliance?
According to her, by “the extensive verification measures we have put in place” — like those “anytime, anywhere” inspections that turned out to be no such thing.
And by the knowledge that “if Iran breaks these commitments, we can snap back both unilateral and UN sanctions.”
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