ISIS to Benefit From Iran Nuclear Deal?
One expert claims that terror group ISIS will reap benefits from the Obama administration's nuclear weapons deal with Iran, while others disagree.
The landmark foreign policy arms control deal, struck between six world powers and Iran, is primarily designed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. However, international and American critics have heavily attacked the agreement for a myriad of reasons.
An article in The Wall Street Journal titled "Iran Deal Worries Mideast Neighbors," quotes Hassan Hassan, an associate fellow at London-based think tank and independent policy institute Chatham House and co-author of a recent book on ISIS, as saying that the Iranian deal is beneficial to the terrorist group.
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"ISIS will benefit a lot from this deal," declared Hassan. "Segments of the Sunni community in the region will see Iran as having won and brought in from the dark."
Gulf Arab states, predominately Sunni, have benefited immensely from an Iran that has been under sanctions and sidelined by much of the international community.
Most experts agree, however, that U.S. policy is increasingly relying upon Iran in the fight against ISIS. Iran is funneling money to Shia militias in Iraq and Syria who are battling ISIS, and are credited with helping to wrestle control of Tikrit from ISIS forces.
John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, tweeted: "History repeating with #IranDeal. Same terrible strategy failed in N Korea, will fail now."
The Christian Post reported on comments from the wife of Saeed Abedini, who thought the deal was largely positive despite her husband's release not being included. President Obama scolded CBS's Major Garrett for questioning why release of the hostages was not a condition of the agreement.
While many world leaders are praising the deal or offering cautiously optimistic statements, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has aggressively denounced the plan.
"Many of the restrictions that were supposed to prevent it from getting there will be lifted," said Nethanyahu. "Iran will get a jackpot, a cash bonanza of hundreds of billions of dollars, which will enable it to continue to pursue its aggression and terror in the region and in the world. This is a bad mistake of historic proportions."
