Probably the greatest of Zarif’s lies is that Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 to “prevent further instability in the region.” Iran signed the deal because the sanctions were threatening to destroy its economy and weaken the Ayatollah’s regime. If Iran had wanted regional stability, then we wouldn’t have discovered in 2002 that Iran built two covert nuclear reactors in Natanz and Arak. We also wouldn’t have been exposed to the 2011 IAEA report which laid out that, in contravention to all the agreements Iran had signed, it continued to enrich uranium and carry out tests whose sole purpose was the development of a nuclear weapon. This may be an uncomfortable truth, but at least it is the truth.

Zarif lies because he’s a professional. That’s Tehran’s method. They say one thing in English and something else in Persian, and in the end do something totally different. I don’t often agree with Prime Minister Netanyahu but his description of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” is right on the money. The Ayatollahs always believed in their ability to deceive the West. In their view the West is weak and immoral, and will do anything to avoid conflict. That worldview was crystallized after the 1983 attack in Beirut in which 241 American troops (mostly Marines) and 58 French soldiers were killed. Although it was proven beyond all doubt that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were behind the attack (an American court ruled that Iran must pay $2.6 billion in compensation to the families of the victims), the Iranians engaged in a sustained media campaign to cover up their involvement. By exploiting the Western media, Iran helped to prevent the United States from executing the response the U.S. military had planned on Iranian soil. Since then they have believed it is possible to deceive the West, especially because the West wants to deceive itself.

Sadly, the deal signed with Iran in the summer of 2015 only strengthened that conviction. Since the deal was signed, they have significantly expanded their ballistic missile program, started building a permanent military presence in Syria, increased the export of advanced weapons to terror organizations—foremost amongst them Hezbollah—and are constantly testing the boundaries with IAEA inspectors to continue to develop their nuclear program. They’re doing all that in a far more comfortable environment than before, because the JCPOA enabled them to sign wide-ranging economic agreements with the Chinese, Russians, and Europeans.

President Trump’s argument that Iran is violating “the spirit of the deal” was met with ridicule and contempt in Iran, but it’s accurate. The goal of the agreement was not to give Iran legitimacy and the ability to increase its involvement in terror and the development of advanced weapons. The agreement was also not intended to allow Iran to threaten America’s allies, principally Saudi Arabia and Israel. If that’s the result of the deal, then cancelling or at least dramatically strengthening the JCPOA must be the right path.