Jonathan Schachter
The Hill, Apr. 25, 2023
“In August 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported that, with the help of China, the Saudis have built a facility to process uranium ore. In December of the following year, the Journal revealed that the kingdom, again with Chinese assistance, is producing its own ballistic missiles.”
From its origins, the Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, has suffered from contradictory assessments of its expected outcomes. Deal supporters assert that it blocks all of Iran’s paths to the bomb, while opponents contend that it paves those paths.
As Iran moves ever closer to the nuclear weapons threshold — using the illegally built nuclear infrastructure decriminalized and guaranteed by the JCPOA itself — the critics appear increasingly prescient.
Among the many competing claims about the JCPOA were those that placed it in the broader context of international arms control. Former European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini often referred to the deal as “an essential component of the global non-proliferation architecture.”
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