When one sits down to make a deal with the devil, it is the devil who usually wins. That’s because he is “crafty,” as the book of Genesis describes him.

The United States and Iran appear on the cusp of a deal that President Biden and his diplomats claim will prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon in the short term. In exchange for a deal that won’t be worth the paper it is written on, the U.S. appears ready to release huge amounts of cash to the Ayatollah Khamenei, who still wants America (and Israel) eliminated, and remove Iran’s Revolutionary Guard from its list of international terrorists. This is self-delusion at its worst. That Russia remains a primary negotiator in light of war crimes it is committing against Ukraine makes this potential deal even more incredible.

Just one among many quotes from the Ayatollah ought to be taken seriously: “Today, America poses a threat to peace and security in the world. Therefore, the slogan ‘Death to America’ is no longer used only by our people. Today, you see throughout the world people setting fire to the effigy of the American president and chanting the slogan ‘Death to America.’ This is because of the American regime’s exaggerated demands, its arrogance, its vanity, and its desire to control, and because it is a pawn in the hands of the Zionists.”

How can someone who has called America “The Great Satan” be trusted to honor any deal?

Iran has consistently denied it is developing a bomb and claims its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Is there anyone who believes that? Former President Donald Trump didn’t believe it and imposed severe sanctions on Iran.

When we sit down with leaders of a nation who do not share American values and wish to destroy those values, we will get up from the negotiating table with a deal that guarantees a further step down the road to instability at best and at worst our and Israel’s destruction.

Former Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline Glick presents clear thinking in this post on her website: “The deal that Biden is concluding with Iran is itself a stunning testament to the radicalism of the Biden team and its refusal to let reality interfere with its policies. It will provide Iran with $90 billion from sanctions relief. That astronomical sum guarantees massive cash infusions into the coffers of Iran’s in-house global terrorist organization — the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which Biden is set to remove from the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations — and to Iran’s terror armies in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and the Gaza Strip. Iran will have the funds to expand its missile and drone capabilities. And thanks to the lax restrictions it will face on its nuclear operations, it will become a nuclear threshold state by 2025 at the latest.”

Even some Democrats oppose the deal. The New York Times reported on a speech by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) on February 1: “I ask why we would try to simply go back to the J.C.P.O.A. — a deal that was not sufficient in the first place and still doesn’t address some of the most serious national security concerns we have.”

It’s a good question and deserves an answer. Any deal should come before the Senate for ratification, but if the administration doesn’t call it a treaty, the Senate will likely be bypassed, which would be a big mistake on several levels.

The Biden administration seems desperate for any victory in view of its disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, inflation that is the highest in 40 years, a fluctuating stock market hurting retirees, high gas and food prices and a continuing decline in the president’s favorability ratings. Making a deal with the Iranian devil will not reverse the public’s view of the administration’s failures. It will only make them worse.

Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com.