The bad news: Iran deal is a mirror, not a deal

Do you know what a mirror is? It’s a surface that shows you what you look like. It reflects back to you who you are.

That’s what this newly inked P5+1/Iran deal is (“As it happened: Iran nuclear deal [completed]”, BBC, April 2, 2015). It’s no deal. It has no substance. With this particular deal, when each side claims it got what it wanted (ibid), you can be sure it’s only a shiny, attractive surface.

What you see in this shiny surface is not a deal to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons. What you see is your own political bias.

For example, in Israel, if you lean Left, you like what you see (Barak Ravid, “Iran nuclear framework agreement: Not a bad deal”, Haaretz, April 2, 2015). But if you’re the Prime Minister of Israel, you hate what you see (Barak Ravid, “Israeli officials: Iran deal will make world much more dangerous”, Haaretz, April 2, 2015).

If you’re a ‘centrist’, you’re either not sure what you’re looking at (Ron Ben-Yishai, “A better deal than we expected”, YNET, April 3, 2015)—or you imitate King Solomon. You talk about a deal that cuts the baby (Israel) in half: (Mitch Ginsburg, “Nuclear deal leaves Israel with few options”, Times of Israel, April 3, 2015).

If you lean to the Right, you keep your mouth shut (at least, as of 9am Israel time, April 3, 2015).

In America, if you’re the President of the United States, you’re happy (David Jackson, “Obama: Iran accord will make the world safer”, USA Today, April 3, 2015). If you support Obama—or share his anti-Israel bias—you’re also happy  (Michael Gordon and David Sanger, “Iran Agrees to Detailed Nuclear Outline, First Step Toward a Wider Deal”, New York Times, April 3, 2015). You happily declare with delight that the deal is “a surprisingly specific and comprehensive understanding on limiting Tehran’s nuclear program for the next 15 years” (ibid).

(Is that what this deal is—an ‘understanding’? How does that stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons?)

If you’re ‘centrist’ in America, you ignore the deal and report on Israel’s reaction (Josef Federman, “Israel cool to Iran deal, may struggle to rally opposition”, Associated Press, April 2, 2015).

If you’re anti-Obama, you hate the deal (“Trust Iran Deal? No Way! Obama Fooled, Not American People”, Conservative Post, April 2, 2015).

If you’re Iran, you have no interest in deals or mirrors. If you’re Iran, who cares what anyone says. You’re going to do whatever you want in any case.

So what does Iran see in this new deal? Even before the ink has dried, all Iran sees is a bunch of lies (Ari Yashar, “Iran says US is lying about Nuclear deal”, Arutz Sheva, April 3, 2015).

This deal is no deal. It’s a fake. It’s just a mirror. It leaves Iran free to do whatever it pleases (with, if anything, only minimal restrictions). It even releases to Iran billions of US dollars that have been frozen for years.

Those billions will be useful. Iran is considered by some to be the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism. In case you didn’t know, sponsoring terror can be expensive.

On second thought, maybe this deal isn’t a mirror after all. Maybe it’s capitulation.

Has Obama become the modern Neville Chamberlain?