Former secys of state Kissinger and Schultz pan nuclear deal

“Mixing shrewd diplomacy with open defiance of UN resolutions, Iran has gradually turned the negotiation on its head,” former US Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Shultz wrote in the Wall Street Journal Wednesday. “Iran’s centrifuges have multiplied about 100 since the negotiations began to almost 20,000 today.” The threat of war constrains the West more than Iran, they wrote and argued that the terms for the inspection of the facilities by international monitors is insufficiently clear. Critics question the verifiability of constraints and their long-term impact on regional and world stability.

Iran permanently gives up none of its equipment, facilities or fissile product, the two former secretaries of state note. It only places them under temporary restriction and safeguard.

Kissinger and Shultz questioned whether the IAEA is up to the daunting task of inspecting the declared sites, when Iran has a long history of violating international agreements.