The Iranians are Russian allies and have applauded the invasion of Ukraine. These are people we trust with nukes? One Russian dictator with them isn’t enough? Joe Lieberman, always a good man and sensible Democrat, makes the case against the Iran nuclear deal.

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Lieberman: Russia’s cruel invasion of Ukraine has upended the global order. President Vladimir Putin’s war crimes make him an international pariah alongside the world’s worst autocrats like Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.

This dramatic change in our understanding of Putin means some U.S. policies must also change, specifically in Vienna as world powers try to revive the failed Iran nuclear deal. The U.S. and its European allies must walk away from the talks now before a new agreement revives and strengthens Putin’s ally Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Biden rightly proclaimed “throughout our history, we’ve learned this lesson: When dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos; they keep moving.” Any new nuclear agreement recommended to the U.S. by, among others, Russia is inherently untrustworthy. The illogic—some might say foolhardiness—of relying on Putin’s Russia in the talks in Vienna after that same country and tyrant have invaded Ukraine without cause is striking.

In Beijing a month ago, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping formalized an alliance in a remarkable meeting and jarring joint communique. They made it clear that the purpose of their partnership is to dislodge the U.S. from its leadership of the international order that created security and prosperity around the world for 75 years. Putin and Xi also redefined “democracy” to their benefit and freedom’s detriment. It is no longer a system like ours, they say, that is characterized by the rule of law, human rights, opportunity, and governments that govern with the consent of the governed. Rather, the Russian and Chinese definition of democracy is simply a government that works, regardless of whether its citizens have any freedom or economic opportunity. This is a direct global challenge to our founding values and form of government, which even though currently divided by partisanship, is infinitely preferable to their autocratic, kleptocratic, repressive regimes.

To start the nuclear talks in Vienna, the U.S. accepted a demeaning demand from Iran that its representatives would not sit in the same room with representatives of the U.S. government. While the Europeans serve as intermediaries to bring the latest Iranian proposals to the American delegation, Russia and China are playing leading roles in bridging gaps as U.S. delegates wait at another hotel. But the Russians and Chinese do not wish us well—having recently declared ideological and geopolitical war on us—and that is one of the reasons the U.S. will not do well in any agreement that emerges from Vienna…

A better course would be for the Biden administration to walk away from the negotiations in Vienna and tighten the economic pressures on Iran’s struggling economy until the Iranian regime is willing to return to direct negotiations with us and our allies, including those most impacted by Iran’s behavior in the region, to resolve the full scope of its malign behavior. Iran’s nuclear enrichment, long-range missile development, and support of terrorism must end. In return, Iran can expect an end to economic sanctions against it and to return to the lawful global economy.