Iran deal a good one

In the near future the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives will address the proposed Iranian nuclear deal. While this agreement is not all we might want it to be, I sincerely hope that this agreement becomes effective. The two main reasons I hold this opinion are:

• If the agreement does not go into effect, Iran will be able to build a nuclear weapon within two years.
• On the other hand, if the deal goes into effect, Iran will not acquire nuclear weapons for 15 years or longer.

A large percentage of this country's population is opposed to this agreement because these individuals believe that a better deal can be obtained. However, I do not think this point of view is correct.

To begin, unless a country has unconditionally surrendered, it will not agree fully when negotiating with another country. Although sanctions brought Iran to the table, they will not force it to do everything to our complete satisfaction.

Second, there are seven countries party to this nuclear deal. They are the U.S., Great Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and Iran. If the current agreement does not go into effect, it will not be possible to get another agreement among a group that is this diverse. To the countries other than the U.S., sanctions were promulgated to bring the Iranians to the negotiating table. These countries would not allow sanctions to be turned into a permanent mechanism to strangle them. We should take this deal while we can get it.

John Piepho, Cape Girardeau