Ever

notice how we never mention our 

"destabilizing activities" 

in the region?

"Iran’s leadership has repeatedly demonstrated that it understands deterrence, respects the military power of the United States, and is willing to back down whenever it realizes it has gone too far and runs the risk of an American military response." 

"Finally, it is worth noting that Pakistan and North Korea have proven themselves to be far more dangerous actors than Iran, yet they have had nuclear weapons for over 30 and over 20 years, respectively, and neither has ever used them."

"Moreover, what they make clear is that the greatest danger from an Iranian nuclear arsenal is how it might exacerbate Iran’s regional activities, activities that are already incredibly destabilizing to the region and threatening to American interests right now, without an Iranian nuclear arsenal."

"In every instance, the United States will be far more able to accomplish its objectives toward Iran if it has strong international support. Yet because the JCPOA is so popular abroad, walking away from it is likely to infuriate other nations who will see the United States, not Iran, as the problem. It gets even worse if the United States then starts trying to enforce its secondary sanctions (waived as part of our adherence to the JCPOA, and which President Trump is now threatening to reinstate). That will mean enforcing sanctions not against Iran, but against our allies and trade partners in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. That is not going to make them want to support our wider strategy against Iran. 

Keeping the Iran Nuclear Issue in Perspective