Opponents of the Iran deal – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – loudly complain that it deals only with the nuclear issue. Why, they ask, didn’t the P5+1 talks also take up Iran’s detention of Americans and its alleged machinations in the Middle East?
They should ask the Israelis.
It was, after all, Israel’s leaders who insisted that the nuclear file be addressed first and on its own, and who pushed back hard against any attempt to forge a more comprehensive understanding or grand bargain with Iran.
So writes David Levy at Foreign Affairs magazine.
Moreover, Iran offered a comprehensive grand bargain to the United States in 2003, in which all outstanding issues would be discussed, including Iran’s support for the Palestinians. Indeed, as part of the proffered grand bargain, Iran accepted Saudi Arabia’s previous Arab Peace Initiative (2002, renewed 2007), which would have included recognition of Israel in a two-state context. President George W. Bush gave Iran’s overture the back of his hand, having branded Iran in 2002 as a member of the Axis of Evil along with Iraq and North Korea. (This was a fine thank-you for Iran’s cooperation after the 9/11 attacks.)
Sheldon Richman is chairman of the trustees of the Center for a Stateless Society. He blogs at Free Association. Reprinted with permission from Free Assocation.
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