Dr. Amirahmadi Speaks about the Nuclear Deal with TRT World
/
AIC's President, Dr. Amirahmadi, recently spoke with TRT World about the Iran Nuclear Deal.
The Nuclear Deal didn't go far enough.
"Well obviously we should support any diplomatic move in bringing Iran back to the international community, but we could have done it in a different way; more comprehensively. Unfortunately, the nuclear deal hasn't done that except at the margin of issues. Everybody was hoping that the nuclear deal would open up Iran; not just Iran to the outside, but the outside to Iran as well. However, as I am speaking as an Iranian-American here in this country absolutely nothing has changed for American citizens or green card holders (for example in terms of business). So unfortunately its a one way street that has opened and not a more comprehensive one.... Iran has become the purchaser the consumers of international goods in some areas, but it has a hard time to sell anything except for oil and a few other commodities. [Furthermore] the deal hasn't really helped the Iranian people."
Iran Didn't Intend to Build a Nuclear Weapon
"The US intelligence agencies have said that [Iran gave up its nuclear weapon program after 2003. The idea that] if there was not a deal Iran would build a bomb - I think that is a lie. I don't think that Iran was in the direction of building a bomb. And, besides, if a country has ever been in that direction, it will never stop, regardless of whatever deal you make. North Korea, Pakistan are just two examples."
"The problem with the nuclear deal is that President Obama made a straw man of the nuclear program to build a legacy for himself and he doesn't care what happens afterward... The nuclear deal soon will be history, not just because Donald Trump will tear it into pieces, but he is going to make sure Iran will not benefit from it and and at the end of the day Iran will be forced to stop the implementation process."
On Trump's Likely Policy Moving Forward
The official policy of the Trump administration [moving forward will be to] keep the deal as a trap for Iran, and then on the periphery, create trouble for Iran by adding more sanctions using human rights and terrorism and Israel as pretext to add more and more of the sanctions, forcing Iran into a situation where either it takes it or leaves. In either case Iran will be a loser. That is the concept of the trap. I believe that is the official policy. It is only unfortunate that Iran got itself into that trap, as opposed to opening up to a more comprehensive deal with the United States where everything was on the table, including the nuclear issue, but unfortunately that didn't happen and Iran is in the trap.
Watch the full video, including interview here.
