Sen. Coons discusses strategies for life after the Iran Deal
Despite it’s predictions to fail, the Iran Nuclear Deal was upheld in the senate. Delaware U.S. Senator Chris Coons says this is where the real work begins. He’s developed a five point strategy that he believes should be taken moving forward to ensure the success of the agreement.
The first step is to prevent Iran from cheating.
Senator Coons explains, “There can be no wavering when it comes to implementing this agreement with the rest of the p 5 + 1 down to the smallest detail. We must stand firm in the face of marginal cheating and ambiguous evasions of the deal; especially in the earliest years of it’s implementation.”
Senator Coons says Iran has historically been untrustworthy. This is why this deal has put a strain on the relationship between the U.S. and Israel. The second point of Coons’ plan is mending that strain.
He continues, “Strengthening our support for Israel now will send a strong message that if Iran threatens Israel, it threatens it’s closet ally, the United States.”
The senator says providing weapons and advanced technology to Israel is the best way to start mending that relationship. The third point of the strategy is strengthening alliances with Persian Gulf countries. Right now, Senator Coons says members of the gulf cooperation council perceive Iranian influence creeping into Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen and worry that the U.S. would withdraw from the region.
He goes on, “The United States continues to have vital national interests in the gulf and we will use military force if necessary to defend them.”
The fourth strategy is for the U.S. to be actively engaged in Syria.
Senator Coons says, “If the Syrian crisis remains unresolved, the fires of extremism will only grow stronger.”
Senator Coons believes that will cause more innocent lives to be lost. He says the U.S. has to live up to their commitment of helping refugees find safety and opportunities. Last on the strategy list is the strengthening the non-proliferation treaty.
He continues, “Now, not fifteen years from now, is the time to strengthen the non- proliferation regime.”
The goal of the treaty is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, while promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The senator believes these concrete actions are vital to the agreement. It is still being heavily scrutinized; particularly with republican presidential hopefuls. Almost all of them are vowing to dismantle the deal if elected.
He goes on, “We have to make this deal work in the next year or year and a half in order to earn the trust of the American people; and in order to lay the ground work for the next president whether he or she is democrat or republican to continue with its implementation.”
Senator coons did note that if the deal doesn’t work and Iran is able to cheat, or if it sends millions or billions of dollars to to support terrorism in its regional proxies, he doesn’t think any president should continue to with the enforcement of the deal.
