Conservatives should want to preserve the Iran nuclear deal

Following the Obama administration's signing of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which significantly rolled back Iran's nuclear program and imposed rigorous limitations on it for the foreseeable future, Congress passed legislation requiring the president to certify every 90 days that Iran is complying with its obligations under the agreement.

President Trump has done this twice so far. But he has given strong indications that he will refuse to do it a third time. With the next 90-day deadline approaching on October 15, the survival of the Iran deal hangs in the balance.

The problem with Trump's stated intention to refuse to certify Iranian compliance is that Iran is, in fact, fully complying. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog, has affirmed eight separate times in detailed reports that Iran is abiding by the deal. America's European allies, the Russians, the Chinese – all agree Iran has not committed any violations.

Even Trump's top Cabinet officials, including Defense Secretary James Mattis, national security adviser H.R. McMaster, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, have encouraged the president to certify Iranian compliance with the deal and thereby avoid its unraveling.

And for good reason. Conservatives especially should insist that, so long as Iran doesn't cheat, the United States must not deliberately scuttle the agreement. The reason is simple: it staves off an Iranian nuclear breakout capability for at least the next couple of decades, and probably indefinitely.