Dear Editor,

In response to Larry Podolsky’s June 24, 2026 letter, “No More Wars?”

Larry states, “In 2018, the newly elected Republican president pulled the U.S. out of the JCPOA, offering little justification beyond calling it “President Obama’s terrible” deal.”

Obama’s original intent was to have the JCPOA presented as a treaty. However, he had to settle for it being framed as an executive agreement because he didn’t have the votes for ratification in the senate. His efforts to have it ratified were doomed, from the beginning, because he hadn’t gathered the support from democratic senators Menendez, Cardin, Manchin and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

On August 6, 2015, Schumer spelled out his opposition to the deal, stating the agreement would only be plausible for the first 10 years of the deal. He warned that after 10 years, and if Iran remained uncooperative, the U.S. would be worse off, as Iran could be very close to a bomb and its nuclear program would be codified in an (JCPOA) agreement.

Obama, prior to the release of the JCPOA’s details, touted how inspectors would have full and unrestricted access, 24/7, to Iran’s key nuclear facilities and entire nuclear supply chin, including uranium mines and conversion facilities. That said, nowhere in the written document does it give inspectors unrestricted access as Obama claimed. In fact, inspectors were delayed and/or denied access to hidden, undeclared or military facilities, such as Varamin, Parching, Lavizan-Shian and Turquzabad, just to name a few.

Perhaps we have Chuck Schumer to thank for Trump’s decision to take military action in order to thwart Iran’s ability to develop, and perhaps use, nuclear weapons. The Strait of Hormuz is open. Yes, gas and food prices are up, along with 401k accounts. But lost in all of this is a question: Is the region and the world better, or worse, off with Iran possessing a nuclear weapon?

Sincerely,

Ron Keeler