Opinion: Trump misfires on Iran nuclear deal

Shiraz+is+one+of+the+major+cities+in+Iran.+

Melody Tavallaee

Shiraz is one of the major cities in Iran.

As a 16 year old junior, politics are not something that I consistently keep myself updated or concerned with. However, when it comes to news that affects my personal cultural background, everything matters.

U.S. President Donald Trump made an address last Friday saying that he decertified the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly known as the Iranian Nuclear Deal, and that he wants the United States to pull out of the agreement. The agreement was reached during Barack Obama’s presidency and involved five other global powers: the UK, Russia, France, China, and Germany as an effort to stop the Iranian nuclear projects by removing sanctions against Iran and placing more restrictions on their activity.

With approximately 20 students on campus of Iranian descent, and thousands more in north Texas, this speech hit home and caused a deep split between our Iranian heritage and our American home.

This deal has proved to be beneficial not only for Iran but also for the entire globe. Not only does it remove many sanctions that were costing Iran great amounts of money for exports, but according to the agreement, Iran is required to allow the IAEA onto any site that is perceived as suspicious and prevents the country from carrying on any efforts of their nuclear project, which ultimately means the globe is safer from the nuclear threat.

If the United States goes through with backing out of this deal, it also gives Iran permission to back out and resume its previous nuclear projects. This would ultimately lead to a new arm obtained by the Iranian nation which would prove to be a great threat to the Middle East and rest of the world. To even further support the ideas of the deal, European nations involved in the agreement are staying in it.

President Trump’s initial intent for his speech may have been to decertify the Iranian Nuclear Deal and weaken the nation’s confidence, however, instead he ended up uniting the Iranian nation. Trump initially came across as supportive of the Iranian people through stating his sympathy towards their struggles against their current government.

However, through the use of two simple words, he disrespected the Iranian people and lost all credibility in their eyes. By using the erroneous term “Arabian Gulf” in place of “Persian Gulf”, he insulted something of a very sensitive importance to all Iranian people. It should be noted that the body of water between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been called the “Persian Gulf” throughout all of history, as evident by historical maps and the terms used in history classes.

To further the extent of his ignorance, Trump made the uneducated claim that Iran has supported the Taliban, an extremist Islamic military organization, when the only three countries that even recognized it are Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates.

He also incorrectly claimed that Iran endorses Al-Qaeda, a terrorist group that has declared war on Iran. In fact, one of Al-Qaeda’s early attacks was in Mashhad, a city in northern Iran. The root of Iran’s clear opposition against these groups is the fact that there is great disputes between Shia Iran and the surrounding Sunni countries. This one difference between the countries has created extreme rivalries between them, so making the assumption that they support each other is absolutely absurd and goes against everything that is really happening in the Middle East.

Staying in the deal is the wisest decision the United States could make as it would prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and leading to the potential of war. President Trump should increase his knowledge on the values of the Iranian people to gain better credibility and look into all the consequences that come with leaving the deal in order to make a wiser and more educated decision that will benefit the entire world.