Executive Director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Mark Dubowitz said the Geneva negotiations have signaled to Iran they can have a nuclear weapon, sanctions relief, and a stabilized economy Wednesday in a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing:
REP. SCOTT PERRY: I am as many Americans are concerned about implications for the broader region and for our only true ally in the region, which is Israel, which has a lot at stake to lose. So I ask you what other than the rhetoric has changed on the ground regarding the nuclear program and ambitions of Iran that should lead us to believe that we should change our position? Is there anything other than rhetoric, tangible?
MARK DUBOWITZ: Nothing has fundamentally changed in the rhetoric, the nuances have changed, the nuclear physics have changed, and Iran has advanced its program significantly. I think what’s changed is there is a sense now in Iran they can have their cake and eat it too. They can have a nuclear weapons program and a buoyant economy. Unfortunately, the negotiations in Geneva are showing the Iranian regime that they can have a nuclear weapon, sanctions relief, and a stabilized economy that gets the oil flowing. And then Supreme Leader Khamenei can do what he’s always wanted to do, he wants to be a regional power, he doesn’t want to be the Persian equivalent of North Korea.
Dubowitz's concerns echo warnings across the international community that alleviating sanctions will allow Iran to continue their pursuit of a nuclear weapon: