By Daniel Larison

July 11, 2019 "Information Clearing House" - Over the last few days, we have been treated to the spectacle of watching leading opponents of the nuclear deal demand that Iran adhere to the limits set by the deal they have vehemently denounced and undermined for years. On the one hand, the opponents insist that the deal is the worst ever negotiated, but they are still acting as if they are furious that Iran is breaching it. We should understand that this is mostly or entirely an act for public consumption. Iran hawks want the deal to fall apart. They have been working to bring about the deal’s collapse for years. They are belatedly wrapping themselves in the JCPOA now because they hope it may give them an opportunity to inflict more punishment on Iran. In so doing, they hope to force Iran out of the deal so that they have their pretext for a conflict.

This newfound admiration for the nuclear deal’s restrictions has been accompanied by the lie that the only reason Iran would exceed its stockpile limits and increase enrichment (to 4.5%, far short of what is needed to produce weapons-grade uranium) is to build nuclear weapons. Bolton, Trump, and, Netanyahu have all made statements to this effect in the last week.

Bolton made this statement a week ago:

There is no reason for Iran to increase its enrichment unless it’s part of an effort to reduce the breakout time to produce nuclear weapons.https://t.co/PSk24XJRJt

— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) July 1, 2019

President Trump: "Iran better be careful. Because you enrich for one reason and I won't tell you what that reason is. But it's no good. They better be careful." pic.twitter.com/iaYDSOcGc0

— The Hill (@thehill) July 8, 2019

We can see here from Trump’s phrasing that he is just echoing the line that Bolton fed him. Bolton says there is no other reason for enrichment, and Trump says there is just one reason, and both of them are wrong. They are trying to portray relatively harmless, reversible breaches of the deal they hate as a dangerous prelude to the development of a nuclear weapon. It seems obvious that they are making these claims in bad faith, and they are doing so to create a bigger crisis.