Comments by "" (@DavidJ222) on "Why US-Iran tensions have escalated under President Trump" video.

  1. Enriched uranium is used to make reactor fuel, but also nuclear weapons. Iran had two facilities - Natanz and Fordo - where uranium hexafluoride gas was fed into centrifuges to separate out the most fissile isotope, U-235. Low-enriched uranium, which has a 3%-4% concentration of U-235, can be used to produce fuel for nuclear power plants. "Weapons-grade" uranium is 90% enriched. In July 2015, Iran had almost 20,000 centrifuges. Under the JCPOA, it was limited to installing no more than 5,060 of the oldest and least efficient centrifuges at Natanz until 2026 - 15 years after the deal's "implementation day" in January 2016. Iran's uranium stockpile was reduced by 98% to 300kg (660lbs), a figure that must not be exceeded until 2031. It must also keep the stockpile's level of enrichment at 3.67%. By January 2016, Iran had drastically reduced the number of centrifuges installed at Natanz and Fordo, and shipped tonnes of low-enriched uranium to Russia. In addition, research and development must take place only at Natanz and be limited until 2024. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the global nuclear watchdog, continuously monitor Iran's declared nuclear sites and also verify that no fissile material is moved covertly to a secret location to build a bomb. Iran also agreed to implement the Additional Protocol to their IAEA Safeguards Agreement, which allows inspectors to access any site anywhere in the country they deem suspicious. Sanctions previously imposed by the UN, US and EU in an attempt to force Iran to halt uranium enrichment crippled its economy, costing the country more than $160bn (£118bn) in oil revenue from 2012 to 2016 alone. Under the deal, Iran gained access to more than $100bn in Iranian assets that were frozen overseas, and was able to resume selling oil on international markets and using the global financial system for trade. The agency will have cameras that provide 24-hour monitoring at the Natanz facility, which has 5,000 centrifuges, and inspectors will have daily access to the facility for 15 years. Within a year, there will be 130 to 150 inspectors in Iran. The Iran deal was not perfect; no deal ever is. Nonetheless, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the agreement is formally known, offered the best possible assurance that Iran would never obtain a nuclear weapon. Trump has foolishly jeopardized the Iran deal by withdrawing from it and reinstating  sanctions on Iran, which the US had set aside in exchange for the Iranians’ pledge to vastly reduce their uranium enrichment, produce no weapons-grade plutonium, and allow international inspectors to rigorously verify their compliance. The JCPOA’s restrictions close every possible path for Iran to obtain fissile material for a nuclear weapon. Although some of the restrictions that the deal places on Iran end after 10, 15, 20, or 25 years, its prohibition on Iran’s obtaining a nuclear weapon never ends. Up until Trump pulled out of the agreement, and placed new sanctions on Iran, Iranians had stuck to the terms of the deal. In summary, Trump is a fool
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  2. Obama was able to bring 5 countries together, and secure a deal with Iran. It was something we had never had before, and the deal was working. In July 2015, Iran had almost 20,000 centrifuges. Under the  Iran deal--JCPOA, it was limited to installing no more than 5,060 of the oldest and least efficient centrifuges at Natanz until 2026. Iran's uranium stockpile was reduced by 98% to 300kg (660lbs), a figure that must not be exceeded until 2031. It must also keep the stockpile's level of enrichment at 3.67%. By January 2016, Iran had drastically reduced the number of centrifuges installed at Natanz and Fordo. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the global nuclear watchdog, continuously monitored Iran's declared nuclear sites and also verified that no fissile material is moved covertly to a secret location to build a bomb. Iran also agreed to implement the Additional Protocol to their IAEA Safeguards Agreement, which allowed inspectors to access any site anywhere in the country they deem suspicious. But the  best part about it is that Obama didn't have to praise the Ayatollahs or the Iranian leadership. He didn’t demean himself, or the office of the presidency, by meeting with them, which would have only given them the perception of being on the same footing as a US President. Trump on the other hand, disgraced himself, and the office of the presidency, by meeting with the most despotic, and maniacal dictator on the planet....not once, but twice. He then proceeded to compliment him, and wax poetically about how he and Kim Jung Un fell in love after exchanging letters.  And what does Trump have to show for disgracing himself and his presidency? Nothing....other than heightened tensions with Iran and NK. Trump doesn't solve problems, he creates them.
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  3. Bill Tierney And till this day, no WMDs have been found in Iraq. The Iran deal was 100 times better than what he had before. And what we had before was nothing....zero. And since the deal was agreed to, there were no indications that Iran was breaking the deal. Only a fool believes that going back to having no cameras or inspectors on the ground in Iran was better than the Iran deal. Pulling out of the deal would put us back to where we are with NK today, totally blind to what's really going on.
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  4. Eric Smith That's what the inspectors are for. To verify whether or not Iran is keeping it's word. If they aren't, then we can act accordingly with more sanctions. But pulling out of the deal would remove inspectors, thus put us back to where we were before, which is totally blind to anything that's going on in Iran.
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