Hillel Neuer appeared on Fox News with Rich Edson to discuss the dangers of negotiating with Iran’s fanatical Islamist regime over their nuclear program.
Rich Edson, Fox News: While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders Israeli troops to increase attacks on Hamas in Gaza, the U.S. and Iran held a second round of nuclear talks in Rome. Let’s bring in foreign policy analyst and United Nations Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer. Hillel, thank you for joining us this afternoon.
Part of these discussions with the United States—we’ve heard really two different types of demands from the US. One, Iran might be able to keep a nuclear program as long as it’s monitored. The other, you’ve got to do away with it all. Where is the U.S. on this, and what’s it going to take to get a deal done?
Hillel Neuer: Look, there are a lot of concerns by Iranians who are opposed to this regime, and others around the world who are aware of what this regime is capable of, of where the administration is going. You identified exactly the issue. At one point, negotiator Steve Witkoff said, we’d be willing to allow the regime to have a certain amount of enrichment of uranium—which leads to a nuclear weapon—but a certain amount we would allow them. And afterwards, when there were protests and opposition and criticism, he said, “No, no, we want dismantlement.”
Look, let’s recognize the simple truth: that this regime is a fanatical Islamist regime which is not negotiating for peace. They’re negotiating to buy time. The regime has never been weaker. The people are impoverished. Sixty percent of the people are living below the poverty line. The regime has no legitimacy. They have no air defenses. Israel eliminated most of their air defenses several months ago. In many ways, the regime is a sitting duck. The currency is at an all-time low. So the regime is at one of the lowest points in history.
There is a fear that the administration, by going with these talks—we just had round two, there’s going to be another round, there’s talk about two months of negotiations—all of that buys valuable time for this regime. And there’s a question on whether Witkoff, you know, what is his goal? Is it, as you said, dismantlement? That would be one thing. That’s the Libyan model: complete dismantlement. Or is it allowing the regime to always have that, you know, proximity to the bomb?
Rich Edson, Fox News: If it is that second option—if Iran can still enrich uranium, albeit at a much lower level—isn’t that basically the deal that Obama struck with Iran and that the Trump administration got out of in 2018?
Hillel Neuer: Well, you know, I think many critics are saying exactly that. President Trump, you called out the Obama deal as something that only benefited the regime. You called for maximum pressure. That worked. The maximum pressure in the Trump first term worked.
These fanatical mullahs, they really do believe America is the Great Satan. They believe Israel is the Great Satan. They’ve spent billions of dollars of their people’s money—this is a very impoverished population—because billions of dollars were sent to terrorist groups: Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, Shiite militias in Syria, the Syrian regime, Shiite militias in Iraq.
This is a regime that wants to destroy, dominate, terrorize their neighbors, including Israel. They hate America. This is their DNA. This is what Ayatollah Khomeini was there for. And Trump called them out. Gave them maximum pressure. When they felt the hurt—economic pressure, diplomatic pressure, strategic pressure—they responded.
And there’s a fear that we’re getting Obama 2.0. And is that what President Trump is signing up for? I don’t think that’s what President Trump wants. And I think he has to recognize—I think he understands it—that this regime understands pressure only. And let’s be honest: any deal, certainly if it’s a weak deal, is a lifeline to this regime. It gives them huge amounts of legitimacy. So let’s be wary of negotiations that are only benefiting the regime.
Rich Edson, Fox News: Round three comes up in just a week. Hillel Neuer, thanks so much for your perspective. Very much appreciate it.
