THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary - May 4, 2018 - Topic 2

Targeting Tehran

On Netanyahu's revelations on Iran

The timing of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that Iran had a robust nuclear weapons programme is not lost on anyone. On Monday, Mr. Netanyahu shared thousands of documents related to Iran’s nuclear programme at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is considering ripping up the Iran nuclear deal. Mr. Trump, who has never hidden his opposition to the deal signed by the Obama administration with Iran and five other countries, is expected to take a decision before May 12. 

The documents Mr. Netanyahu cited were stolen from Iran by Israeli spies, and suggest that Iran had a robust nuclear weapons programme before the multilateral deal was signed — while Iran had always maintained that its nuclear programme was for civilian purposes. Mr. Netanyahu argued that the documents pointed to an act of deceit on Iran’s part, a claim the U.S. immediately backed. But Israel’s opposition to the Iran deal is not new. The Obama administration had gone ahead with multilateral talks with Iran despite opposition from two of the U.S.’s strongest West Asian allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia. But with the new U.S. administration under Mr. Trump taking an increasingly hostile line towards Iran, Israel has also stepped up its attack on the nuclear deal. Mr. Netanyahu’s ‘revelations’ are clearly aimed at setting the stage for, and influencing, Mr. Trump’s big decision on the deal in the coming days.

The problem with Mr. Netanyahu’s presentation is that it relates to a pre-nuclear deal Iran. Even if the documents are authentic, they suggest that Iran had a nuclear weapons programme. There is no indication that Iran has violated the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the international agreement signed between Iran, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and Germany. Even the Trump administration, which backs Israel’s claims, doesn’t say Iran is in violation of the nuclear deal. After Mr. Netanyahu’s press conference, the International Atomic Energy Agency too said it has no credible information to show that Iran has violated the agreement. So if Iran indeed had an active weapons programme as Israel claims, the nuclear deal has ended it. This only bolsters the argument in favour of the deal. In other words, the U.S. and Israel are yet to make a convincing argument on why the Iran deal should be scrapped. But if Mr. Trump does pull the U.S. out of the pact and reimposes sanctions on Iran, that would be a disincentive for Tehran to stay in compliance with the agreement. So, practically, if Mr. Trump decides to pull out of the Iran deal, it would start the unravelling of an agreement that nobody has violated. The U.S. should assess the agreement based on its merit and outcomes, not on narrow geopolitical or ideological calculations.

Vocabulary

Claim: an assertion of the truth of something, typically one that is disputed or in doubt.

Example: He was dogged by the claim that he had CIA links

Synonyms: assertion, declaration, profession, affirmation, avowal

Robust: strong and healthy

Example: The Caplans are a robust, healthy lot

Synonyms: strong, vigorous, sturdy, tough, powerful, solid, muscular

Administration: the process or activity of running a business, organization, etc..

Example: The day-to-day administration of the company

Synonyms: management, direction, control, command, charge, conduct

Deceit: the action or practice of deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the truth.

Example: A web of deceit

Synonyms: deception, deceitfulness, duplicity, double-dealing, fraud, cheating

Revelation: a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made known in a dramatic way.

Example: Revelations about his personal life

Synonyms: disclosure, surprising fact, announcement, report, admission

Authentic: of undisputed origin; genuine.

Example: The letter is now accepted as an authentic document

Synonyms: genuine, real, bona fide, true, veritable, legitimate, lawful

Indication: a sign or piece of information that indicates something.

Example: The visit was an indication of the improvement in relations between the countries

Synonyms: sign, signal, indicator, symptom, mark, manifestation, demonstration

Credible: able to be believed; convincing.

Example: Few people found his story credible

Synonyms: believable, plausible, tenable, able to hold water, conceivable

Scrapped: discard or remove from service, especially so as to convert it to scrap metal.

Example: The decision was made to scrap the entire fleet

Synonyms: throw away, throw out, dispose of, get rid of, toss out, throw on the scrapheap

Unravel: investigate and solve or explain something complicated or puzzling

Example: They were attempting to unravel the cause of death

Synonyms: solve, resolve, clear up, puzzle out, unscramble, get to the bottom of