Beyond the Iran Deal: Why Trump’s refusal to ‘kick the can’ just saved generations

Iran's nuclear ambitions face major setback as Trump authorizes military strikes on key nuclear facilities, ending decades of failed diplomatic efforts.

Van Hipp is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army.

The free world has long been concerned about Iran’s nuclear program.  And it’s their nuclear ambitions, when combined with the ever-increasing range of its ballistic missile capability, that poses the greatest threat. Over the years, steps have been undertaken to try and delay or slow down Iran’s nuclear efforts. The Stuxnet cyberattack in 2010 destroyed many spinning centrifuges at Iran’s Natanz facility. Experts believe this set Iran’s nuclear program back approximately 2 years.  Regardless of these efforts though, Iran would always reconstitute and expand its nuclear program, thumbing its nose at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) along the way.

In 2015, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or "Iran Deal," was negotiated with U.S. Government support, and the support of the vast majority of national security experts who opposed Trump’s candidacy in 2016. During the 2016 presidential campaign, then candidate Trump called it a "horrible, one-sided deal" because it did not address Iran’s ballistic missile program, and that it would allow Iran’s nuclear efforts to continue as restrictions are phased out. Fortunately, in 2018, President Trump, determined that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon, formally withdrew the U.S. from the Iran Deal.