The Trump administration's memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Islamic Republic of Iran is a framework, not a final deal, and the difference between the two is the difference between a generational victory and a generational mistake. The MOU will be judged on a single question.Does the final agreement verifiably dismantle Iran's nuclear program and remove its enriched uranium stockpile from the regime’s hands, or does it manage their path to a bomb the way the JCPOA did? There is no third option. Anything in between is the 2015 deal on different letterhead, and a mismanagement of the leverage the Trump administration has gained in this war. President Trump's instinct that the strategic imperative is nonproliferation is correct.
The Islamic Republic is weaker today than at any point since 1979.Maximum pressure was working.
The internal pressure was at a boiling point.The regime came to the table because it had to, not because it wanted to, and that is the leverage the U.S.
is in danger of trading away.TRUMP NUCLEAR TALKS FACE DEFINING QUESTION: WHAT HAPPENS TO IRAN’S URANIUM STOCKPILE?resident Donald Trump (C) gestures as he addresses the media alongside United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer (L), US Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick (2L), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2R) and US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent (R) during a closing press conference at the G7 summit, in Evian, eastern France (Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)Is there even a deal that will be upheld by a duplicitous regime? Perhaps not, but at the very least, a final agreement that locks in dismantlement, stages sanctions relief against demonstrated compliance, and preserves every snapback tool would be more prudent.A repeat of the JCPOA's structure, money up front and a managed path to enrichment, would be the most expensive diplomatic concession in modern memory. The JCPOA had two fatal flaws, and both are avoidable.The first was the cash transfer.
Between unf...