The Winners, Losers and Inbetweeners After Iran’s Nuclear Deal

Bobby Ghosh – Quartz

As the details of the nuclear deal with Iran are parsed, you will hear variations of this phrase: “There are no losers, it’s win-win for all.” That’s the sort of thing you hear from winners trying to soften the blow for losers—and from losers pretending they haven’t lost.

Make no mistake, there are big winners—just follow the sound of celebratory fireworks—and big losers in this deal. And then there’s the US, which is, at best, neither a clear winner nor loser. If the best secretary of state John Kerry could come up with is, “we have a chance here,” then it’s far from clear that the deal represents a victory for the US. It is only a chance.

US Secretary of State John Kerry explains nuclear deal with Iran in Vienna July 14 (VOA)

Why the Iran Deal Makes Obama’s Critics So Angry

Peter Beinart – The Atlantic

“Mankind faces a crossroads,” declared Woody Allen. “One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”

The point is simple: In life, what matters most isn’t how a decision compares to your ideal outcome. It’s how it compares to the alternative at hand.

The same is true for the Iran deal, announced Tuesday between Iran and six world powers. As Congress begins debating the agreement, its opponents have three real alternatives.

Federica Mogherini (left), EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Javad Zarif, Iranian Foreign Minister, address the media in Vienna on July 14 about the deal reached between the P5+1 and Iran to limit Iran’s nuclear weapons program. (VOA)

Graham: Iran Deal ‘Akin to Declaring War’ on Israel

Josh Rogin – Bloomberg View

The newly announced deal between Iran and six world powers is “akin to declaring war on Israel and the Sunni Arabs,” and will be a huge problem for Hillary Clinton, according to GOP presidential candidate and Senator Lindsey Graham, who promised to not uphold the deal if he is elected next year.

“My initial impression is that this deal is far worse than I ever dreamed it could be and will be a nightmare for the region, our national security and eventually the world at large,” Graham told me in an interview early Tuesday morning, just after Iran, China, France, Russia, Britain, the U.S. and Germany confirmed they had reached terms for a historic deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.