This article originally appeared at the Conservative Review:
Over the past 18 months, Obama has paid Iran $700 million a month to come to the negotiations table and string along the West with promises of dismantling their nuclear program. This may sound like an exaggeration – it’s not. In addition to paying them what will amount to $12 billion in unfrozen assets by the end of June, Obama has ceded half of the Middle East to the Iranian hegemony, including control of critical international waterways, as well as the security of Israel.
So what is the return on Obama’s investment?
Not only has Iran refused to dismantle its program or even allow weapons inspectors on any relevant nuclear sites, a new report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reveals that Iranian nuclear fuel stockpiles expanded by 20% since negotiations began in November 2013. You might call this investment the ‘Solyndra of the Middle East,’ except that this is not a joke; it’s an existential threat to global security.
This is the grand lie of the entire negotiations. Proponents of negotiations are giving off the impression that there is no harm in trying to forge a deal and that sanctions will not be lifted unless they abide by the terms of the Joint Plan of Action (JPA) laid out by the P5+1 nations on November 24, 2013. The reality is that Iran has already benefited from a smorgasbord of preliminary sanctions relief for the past 18 months. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose by continuing to blow through deadlines and dragging out these specious negotiations.