Iran continues to be stirred up concerning the upcoming American Presidential elections – with no clear conclusion in sight, according to Saeid Jafari in AL Monitor. A number of different opinions are proffered by various Iranians; here’s one:
Nasser Hadian, a prominent professor of international relations at Tehran University, told Al-Monitor, “At a first glance, it might seem as if Trump is the worst option for Iran mainly because he is constantly talking of dismantling the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA]. He threatens Iran, talks of the damages [to US interests] of the nuclear deal or the need to attack and destroy Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf. But if we look at the bigger picture, Trump can first of all jeopardize the legitimacy of the US global dominance and this might be more favorable for Iran. Even today, you see many high-ranking Republicans who are willing to vote for Clinton so that Trump doesn’t win because in US society as well as in the international arena, Clinton is viewed as a reasonable individual.”
But how can one consider Trump the better option when he continually attacks the JCPOA? In his speech at the Republican convention July 21, he described the agreement as one of the worst deals in US history. Can Trump really dismantle the landmark accord with Iran? In June, the White House emphasized that no one — including a potential President Trump — will have the power to tear up the nuclear deal. Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarifreaffirmed this position while attending a session of the French Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces in June and said that the JCPOA was not an agreement between Iran and the United States alone.
Speaking of the JCPOA, or Iran Nuclear Deal, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s stance opposing it is not the last word on it from the Jewish quarter. Julian Pecquet, also in AL Monitor, reports on the activities of J Street, a pro-Israel group, in tight Congressional races:
[J Street’s] $500,000 ad buy targets two incumbent senators in the crucial swing states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Pat Toomey and Ron Johnson. Their Democratic opponents, Katie McGinty and Russ Feingold, respectively, have both come out in support of the agreement even though they were not in Congress to vote for it.
“We aim to exact a cost from the deal’s most strident opponents, who tried at every turn to undercut the very negotiations that led to the historic defanging of Iran’s nuclear weapons program,” J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement. “And in the same breath, or 30-second ad, such as it is, we’ll bolster those candidates who represent a new approach to conflict resolution and American diplomatic leadership in the Middle East and beyond.”
The almost identical ads link the two Republicans to their party’s presidential nominee, Donald Trump, who has vowed to “dismantle” the deal if he is elected. The ads also point out that a bevy of US and Israeli security experts support the agreement, without of course mentioning that many others — chief among them Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — disagree. J Street has also developed similar ads targeting Sens. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., although those ads are only running online for now.
I have to wonder if Netanyahu qualifies as an expert when many Israeli experts endorsed the deal. But attention like this should clarify the importance of understanding foreign affairs for those who aspire to national leadership, and, for voters, understanding that some ads will be guided by those who do not have the best interests of America at heart. The latter can be difficult – I have no idea if even J Street knows if Israel or the USA is more important – so the best I can suggest is fact-check what the candidates say and try to vote for the candidate who seems to have an honest grasp of the issues.
