Reports
WSJ op-ed: Trump Tries a ‘Waive-and-Slap’ Approach to Tehran
by Mark Dubowitz and David Albright
May 17, 2017
The Trump administration had no sooner renewed a waiver on U.S. sanctions against Iran’s crude-oil exports Wednesday than it introduced a raft of new sanctions against the regime. Call it the waive-and-slap approach.
The oil-exports sanctions waiver, which will continue to temporarily allow Iran to sell its crude oil to international customers despite the statutory sanctions, had come due as part of the Iran nuclear deal. But their renewal is no sign that President Trump is flip-flopping on his campaign promise to “tear up” the deal. The Trump administration is currently conducting an Iran-policy review. The last thing Mr. Trump should do before this policy is finalized is to make drastic and premature decisions that could incite a diplomatic backlash.
Mr. Trump needs to take his time developing a comprehensive strategy to roll back and subvert Iranian aggression. Only once U.S. leverage is restored can he address the deal’s fatal flaws. These include sunset provisions that give Tehran patient pathways to nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them; inadequate access for inspectors to Iranian military sites; unworkable controls on Iran’s overseas procurement for its nuclear and missile programs; poor assurance that Iran isn’t cooperating with North Korea on nuclear-capable missiles and sensitive nuclear activities; and front-loaded sanctions relief….
Read the full op-ed on The Wall Street Journal’s website here (subscription required).
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