--- title: Iran Nuclear Deal: Barack Obama Compares It to the Cold War description: President Obama flattered Iran by comparing it to the Soviet Union as he made the case for a nuclear deal. canonical: https://time.com/3986072/iran-nuclear-deal-american-university/ author: Karl Vick article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-05T19:22:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T09:55:52.127Z article:section: World og:title: President Obama Flatters Iran With Soviet Union Analogy og:description: The Cold War analogy makes the argument for peace, but puffs up a failing state. og:url: https://time.com/3986072/iran-nuclear-deal-american-university/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt07f473fe75877806/69885e100a4a22e39c9c57be/barack-obama-iran-nuclear-deal-american-university.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: President Barack Obama speaks about the Iran nuclear agreement August 5, 2015 at American University in Washington, DC. Obama is pushing for congress to appove the nuclear deal reached with Iran. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Flatters Iran With Soviet Union Analogy twitter:description: The Cold War analogy makes the argument for peace, but puffs up a failing state. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt07f473fe75877806/69885e100a4a22e39c9c57be/barack-obama-iran-nuclear-deal-american-university.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Tehran's Triumph of the Nil  by [Karl Vick](/author/karl-vick/)  ## Karl Vick Editor at Large Aug 5, 2015 7:22 PM CUT  President Barack Obama speaks about the Iran nuclear agreement August 5, 2015 at American University in Washington, DC. Obama is pushing for congress to appove the nuclear deal reached with Iran. President Barack Obama speaks about the Iran nuclear agreement August 5, 2015 at American University in Washington, DC. Obama is pushing for congress to appove the nuclear deal reached with Iran.Pool—Getty Images  by [Karl Vick](/author/karl-vick/)  ## Karl Vick Editor at Large Aug 5, 2015 7:22 PM CUT President Obama made about as sound a case as could be made on Wednesday for Congressional approval of the nuclear deal with Iran. It was a nice stroke to borrow both the venue and the logic of John F. Kennedy’s [1962 speech](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/jfk-university/ "undefined") at American University; JFK’s argument for “a practical and obtainable peace” and putting faith in the “gradual evolution in human institutions” land right in the wheelhouse of [Obama’s argument for cementing the pact](http://time.com/3985638/obama-pushes-iran-deal/ "undefined"), the alternative to which really is war. But the Cold War comparison was also immensely flattering to Iran, which is, to the Soviet Union roughly what Costa Rica is to the United States. Iran, known as Persia for most of its 2,500 years, can rightly claim an extraordinary role in world history, as a seat of empire, a fount of learning and wellspring of the greatest aesthetic and intellectual achievements of Islam’s glory years. It may even have been the source of monotheism, if as some sources say Zoroaster predated Abraham. But in the 36 years the mullahs have been in power, Iran has been reduced to the status of gadfly. It makes almost nothing except trouble. Its economy is dominated by the state, which is widely understood as corrupt, and produces a gross domestic product [less than half the size ](http://country-facts.findthedata.com/compare/3-97/Iran-Islamic-Republic-of-vs-Turkey "undefined")of neighboring Turkey, which has almost exactly the same number of people and none of Iran’s oil and gas. The Islamic Revolution brought education to much more of the population, but unfortunately, not nearly enough work; 150,000 college graduates leave the country every year. The country leads the world in two categories: [opium addiction](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/22/AR2005092202287.html "undefined"), and[ traffic fatalities,](http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/11/iran-traffic-deaths-crisis-roads.html# "undefined") the latter a seldom-cited but excellent [marker](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-18023809 "undefined") for the government’s level of competence, or its most basic regard for its citizens. The painful truth is that Tehran’s singular achievement has been getting the goat of the world’s only superpower, albeit by accident — those students weren’t supposed to take over the U.S. Embassy, but when Ayatullah Khomeini saw the Americans’ reaction, he decided to ride the bronc. His successors are riding it still. Obama paid them a great compliment in comparing them to the godless Soviets who, as their empire crumbled, Khomeini [urged in a letter to Mikhail Gorbachev to take up the study of Islam](http://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/05/world/study-islam-khomeini-suggests-to-gorbachev.html "undefined"). The bomb sure didn’t save them, a lesson the mullahs would do well to consider themselves. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3986072/iran-nuclear-deal-american-university/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3986072/iran-nuclear-deal-american-university/"},"headline":"Tehran's Triumph of the Nil","datePublished":"2015-08-05T19:22:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:55:52.127Z","description":"President Obama flattered Iran by comparing it to the Soviet Union as he made the case for a nuclear deal.","url":"https://time.com/3986072/iran-nuclear-deal-american-university/","keywords":["Iran","Barack Obama","Foreign Policy","John F. Kennedy","National Security","iran nuclear deal"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt07f473fe75877806/69885e100a4a22e39c9c57be/barack-obama-iran-nuclear-deal-american-university.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Karl Vick","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/karl-vick/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt07f473fe75877806/69885e100a4a22e39c9c57be/barack-obama-iran-nuclear-deal-american-university.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Barack Obama speaks about the Iran nuclear agreement August 5, 2015 at American University in Washington, DC. Obama is pushing for congress to appove the nuclear deal reached with Iran.","caption":"President Barack Obama speaks about the Iran nuclear agreement August 5, 2015 at American University in Washington, DC. Obama is pushing for congress to appove the nuclear deal reached with Iran.","creditText":"Pool—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/iran/","name":"Iran"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3986072/iran-nuclear-deal-american-university/","name":"Tehran's Triumph of the Nil"}}]}] ```