RUTHFULLY YOURS

It’s time to reinstate sanctions and ramp up the pressure on Tehran.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu dropped an intelligence bombshell on the world Monday and, with it, may have signed the death warrant for the 2015 Iran nuclear accord: Thousands of files seized from inside Iran definitively prove that the Islamic Republic has been deceiving the international community all along. The regime lied to the International Atomic Energy Agency about the existence of a nuclear-weapons program, and, in direct violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), hid its massive archive of nuclear knowhow.

The response from President Donald Trump should be no different than his response to North Korea: maximum pressure until the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

In 2015, when the Obama administration negotiated the JCPOA, critics warned that Iran would ultimately follow in the footsteps of North Korea, which reached its own nuclear agreement with America in 1994. In that accord, known as the Agreed Framework, North Korea promised to freeze its production of plutonium in exchange for heavy fuel oil and light-water reactors. As it turned out, the North covertly developed a uranium-enrichment program, which, when combined with its unabated development of ballistic missiles, turned it from a national-security problem to a national-security nightmare.

Just two and a half years into the JCPOA, it appears Iran’s intentions are equally nefarious: It is using the JCPOA to buy time to regain economic strength while continuing work on ballistic missiles and advanced centrifuges until it decides to build nuclear weapons. The regime’s own archive, as revealed by Netanyahu, confirms that Tehran is on a slow but clear path toward nuclear capability.

Netanyahu’s revelation comes days before President Trump’s deadline for Europe to help him fix certain flaws in the nuclear deal or else face an American exit. For months, State Department negotiators have worked with their counterparts in London, Paris, and Berlin to find ways to force inspections at Iranian military sites, extend the deal’s restrictions beyond 2025, and curb the Iranian ballistic-missile program.

The embarrassing collection of failures that made up the Obama foreign policy team is singing from the same songbook in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s expose of Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“Nothing new here!” they sing in harmony.

The documents obtained by Israeli intelligence show the extent of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, and the steps that despotic regime has taken to keep the program secret.

Indeed, this comes as no surprise to anyone who was paying attention. Netanyahu’s presentation did not contain evidence that Iran has cheated since the 2015 deal was signed. But it shredded Iran’s laughable claim that it seeks nuclear energy, not nuclear warheads. It also undermines every claim made by the Obama administration in justifying the Iran deal.

The proof of Iran’s bad faith should be a warning to the White House as it heads into negotiations with North Korea. That rogue regime seeks international legitimacy and international aid in exchange for promises it has no intention of keeping.

The Obama foreign policy team showed itself to be a bevy of gullible saps, trading away American interests for false promises. Let us hope the Trump administration avoids the pitfall of signing a deal that will never be honored.