I have been blogging lately about the "framework" negotiated between the U.N. Security Council members (U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China) and Iran with respect to the Iranian nuclear program. The framework will be the basis of a final agreement to be drafted by June. The Israeli Prime Minister has been very skeptical about the negotiations and has been expressing his concerns in speeches and interviews in the international media. He has repeatedly said that Iran cannot be trusted and that this framework will not prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. Recently, a member of the Israeli legislative body shared ten questions that he says should be answered before any agreement with Iran is signed.
1). "Why are sanctions that took years to put in place being removed immediately (as the Iranians claim)?" Actually, the specific timing of the removal of sanctions was not detailed in the framework despite what the Iranian government has been telling its own people.
2) "Given Iran’s track record of concealing illicit nuclear activities, why does the framework not explicitly require Iran to accept inspections of all installations where suspected nuclear weapons development has been conducted?" The monitoring program covered in the framework is very thorough and does target all known research facilities in Iran.
3) "Will Iran ever be forced to come clean about its past nuclear weaponization activity?" This is really ironic coming from Israel when it has steadfastly refused to even admit that it has the nuclear warheads. Western intelligence says that Iran halted work on nuclear weapons in 2003 and has not resumed it since.
4) "What will be the fate of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium." Reduction of stockpiles of enriched uranium are specifically mentioned in the framework. It can either be shipped out of Iran or mixed with uranium ore to dilute the enrichment. Exactly what is to be done with the existing stockpile will be part of the final agreement.
5) "Why will Iran be allowed to continue R&D on centrifuges far more advanced than those currently in its possession?" Iran's nuclear research facilities will concentrate on nuclear power and nuclear medicine which they are entitled to do as a sovereign nation. Enrichment is part of nuclear research. Any attempt to create the "cascades" of thousands of centrifuges to enrich enough uranium for a bomb would be easily detected by the monitoring regime in the framework.
6) "Why does the framework not address Iran’s intercontinental ballistic missile program, whose sole purpose is to carry nuclear payloads?" As a sovereign nation, Iran has the right to develop missile launch systems regardless of what other countries think they might be used for. The knowledge gained could be used for space exploration.
7) "Following Iranian violations of the framework, how effective will be the mechanism to reinstitute sanctions?" The framework is very clear that if Iran does not comply with the agreement, the sanctions can be easily and quickly put back into place.
8) "What message does the framework send to states in the region and around the world when it gives such far-reaching concessions to a regime that for years has defied UNSC resolutions?" Defying a resolution that you disagree with is not the same as failing to comply with an agreement that you accept. If the sanctions are removed and Iran complies, other countries will see that cooperation works. If Iran fails to comply, other countries will see that non-compliance is met with international economic retaliation. Either way, Israel's fear that the framework would encourage nuclear proliferation in the Middle East is unfounded.
9) "The framework agreement appears to have much in common with the nuclear agreement reached with North Korea." N.K. eventually developed nuclear bombs after the agreement Israel is talking fell apart. However, the agreement did delay N.K. work on nuclear weapons for ten years. If this is all that the negotiated framework accomplishes in Iran, it will be worth the effort. And Iran is NOT N.K.
10) "Why is the lifting of restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in about a decade not linked to a change in Iran’s behavior?" Israel criticizes Iran for support of terrorist activities but Iran criticizes Israel for abuse of Palestinians. It is critical that Iran be dissuaded from obtaining nuclear weapons. Other countries concerns over Iranian "misbehavior" in foreign relations are free to negotiate or retaliate as they see fit but the negotiated framework only deals with the Iranian nuclear program and that is sufficient.
In the end, an agreement with Iran based on the negotiated framework will benefit all the countries in the Middle East including Israel.
