President Barack Obama’s 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, negotiated over eighteen months with Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia, was accomplishing exactly what it was designed to do. The agreement reduced Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile by roughly 97 percent, from about 10,000 kilograms to 300 kilograms, cut operating centrifuges from nearly 19,000 to 5,060, capped uranium enrichment at 3.67 percent, and established one of the most intrusive international inspection systems ever negotiated.
After the United States withdrew from the accord in 2018, Iran gradually resumed higher levels of enrichment and reduced international inspection access. Today, Iran possesses large quantities of uranium enriched far beyond the agreement’s limits.
Iran also holds another powerful weapon: the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply passes. As we have seen, any serious disruption there sends shock waves through the global economy, driving up fuel prices, destabilizing markets, and creating worldwide economic chaos.
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Lawrence E. Mazin, Ed.D.
SaddleBrooke
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