Will Biden Victory Bring a Nuclear Powered Iran Much Closer?


Will Biden Victory Bring a Nuclear Powered Iran Much Closer?

As foreign leaders begin to accept the mainstream media’s declaration that Joe Biden was the victor in last week’s election, Iran is beginning to hint that the new Biden-led reality would include their possession of nuclear weapons with their primary target being the US.

Iran Votes for Biden

Last week, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani called for Joe Biden to return the US to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known commonly as the Iran nuclear deal that was brokered by his former boss, Barack Obama in 2015. 

“Now, an opportunity has come up for the next U.S. administration to compensate for past mistakes and return to the path of complying with international agreements through respect of international norms,” the state-run IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.

“The people of Iran, though their heroic resistance against the imposed economic war, proved that the U.S. maximum pressure policy was doomed to fail,” Rouhani said. He added Iran “considers constructive engagement with the world as a strategy

Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris have indeed stated their intention to reinstate the JCPOA. If Biden is declared president and acts on his expressed intention, as per the terms of the agreement, Biden and the United States would face a nuclear-armed Iran before he completes his term in office.

In contrast, President Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018, reinstating economic sanctions. Trump also put teeth behind these sanctions, including the drone-killing of Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani. The sanctions have also curtailed Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism for the purpose of regional expansion, pushing Iran’s economy into crisis. Iranian compliance with the terms of the JCPOA was difficult to verify and they ignored the accompanying agreement with the UNSC that required them to cease their program developing intercontinental ballistic missiles. 

In a poignant commentary on that possibility Imam Mohammad Tawhidi, also known as the Imam of peace, tweeted advice two days before the US presidential election to the American people:

“If I was American in this election, I’d see who the Islamist extremists are supporting, and then go vote for the opposite candidate. I can live without a booming economy, but I can’t live with a boom every day.”

 

Iran Enthusiastic for a Democratic Victory and Death to America

Rouhani’s pro-Biden/anti-Trump preference was echoed by Hesameddin Ashena, an adviser to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who wrote on Twitter that the “Iranians have stood steadfastly until that coward’s time came to leave.” 

The Gatestone Institute reported on Iranian media reactions to a perceived Biden victory. 

“Headlines in the state-controlled newspapers, which celebrated the news, included, ‘World without Trump!’ (Aftabe Yazd newspaper), ‘Mr Withdrawal is Close to Being Kicked Out of White House”+’, ‘Go to Hell You Gambler!’ (Sobhe Now newspaper) ‘Trump’s Card No Longer Valid for Media!’ (Aftabe Yazd newspaper), ‘The Bankrupt US President Got Humiliated’ (Mardom Salari newspaper), and ‘Trump Must Leave’ (Donyaye Eghtesad newspaper).”

This pro-Biden sentiment is certainly motivated at least in part by a desire to return to the JCPOA which would grant explicit approval of an Iranian nuclear weapons program. In an announcement that coincided with the US elections, the Iranian parliament has passed a bill obligating the government to dramatically step up the country’s nuclear-related activity. Lest their intentions be misunderstood, after the bill was passed, the parliament members chanted: “Death to America!”

Biden’s Iranian Problem Goes Much Deeper

But Biden’s pro-Iranian tendencies predate his term as vice president. As Caroline Glick recently wrote:

“In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Biden advocated giving $200 million to Iran to show America’s good intentions to the Islamic world. During the Iraq War, Biden was one of the most powerful voices calling for the United States to cut a deal with Iran which would essentially transform post-Saddam Iraq into an Iranian satrapy.”

Glick also explained that a Biden/Harris administration will attach itself to Iran in a manner that would inevitably alienate the US’s current allies.

“In an election-eve interview with the Dearborn, Michigan-based American Arab News, Biden’s running mate Sen. Kamala Harris pledged to upend U.S.-Saudi ties. In her words, ‘Instead of standing by as the government of Saudi Arabia pursues disastrous, dangerous policies, including the ongoing war in Yemen, we will reassess the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia and end support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.’ In other words, the United States will support Iran’s Houthi proxy in its war against Saudi Arabia.”


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