A Christian Response to the Iran Deal: The Deal Is Still a Bad Deal

With the vote for the Iran Deal looming in the House, and enough votes in the Senate for the President to veto, it’s important to remember this deal is still a bad deal. The deal doesn’t solve the nuclear issue with Iran, it barely even postpones it. It provides Iran with permanent relief with temporary restrictions: That’s if Iran upholds its end of the bargain with honesty and transparency.

President Obama argued the key to Iranian nuclear deal is the “unprecedented” access available for inspections. If by “unprecedented” he means partial access to nuclear sites then we’re all in trouble.

First, the deal doesn’t require Iran to divulge information on the nuclear program they have already established, so whatever happened in the past we’ll just sweep that under the carpet. When asked about obtaining Iranian information about their past nuclear work Olli Heinonen, former chief inspector for the IAEA, said, “You are taking a heck of a risk if you don’t establish a baseline of how far they went.” 

Additionally, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) lacks the freedom to inspect the nuclear sites anytime/anywhere. It’s more like: The Iranians will tell you when to inspect and where to inspect. Now as a result of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action the IAEA has to jump through Iranian hoops and provide the Iranians reasons for their inspection of nuclear sites. Oh and don’t forget, no IAEA inspections of military sites. All data for military inspections is done by Iranians themselves; they hand the IAEA photos and soil samples of military sites. That’s like telling a declared drug addict in search of a job to go home and take his own drug test.

If inspections are the key to unlocking more intelligence about Iran’s military use of nuclear enrichment, then why are military sites prohibited for IAEA inspections?

Well, maybe the inspections aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, so maybe the limitations placed on Iran’s nuclear program will help prevent them from attaining a nuclear weapon. I wish I could say yes, but again the deal is still a bad deal even with all the makeup they are putting on it. Even with the nuclear limitations, Iran still maintains a nuclear program, and after 10 short years, both the UN conventional arms sanctions and the UN ballistic missiles sanctions will be lifted, along with limitations on new enrichment technology. So now we not only have a nuclear Iran, but an Iran with permission to buy the rockets to launch their weapons.

This deal only incentivizes Iran to continue their dangerous nuclear program, with very little oversight from the IAEA. It’s a bad deal!

So as Christians what should we do? What can we do?

When Jesus was sending out His disciples into what He knew could potentially be a dangerous scene, He told them to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). I believe this same passage can be applied to how we as Christians can process this deal as it moves forward.

As Christians we must practice wisdom when it comes to understanding the nature of the Iran Deal. According to the book of  Proverbs, wisdom begins with fearing the Lord, and the result of holding the Lord in reverence is an understanding of knowing what is good and what is evil. Folks, this deal legitimizes the evil actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran. We must be people of wisdom as it relates to the future of this deal.

Finally, be harmless or innocent as doves. A dove in the ancient world was considered to be without contamination, very pure in intentions and approach and full of virtue. So make sure as you implement wisdom in discerning the deal, you are like innocent doves in how you communicate your concerns to others.

For more on the Iran Deal, listen to Chris interview Friends of Israel Executive Director Jim Showers.