Elder statesmen Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, both former U.S. secretaries of state, have slammed the Obama Iran deal.

Elder statesmen Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, both former U.S. secretaries of state, have slammed the Obama administration's framework nuclear agreement with Iran.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, the two men accused Obama of allowing Iran to "gradually" turn "the negotiation on its head."

While Iran treated the mere fact of its willingness to negotiate as a concession, the West has felt compelled to break every deadlock with a new proposal. In the process, the Iranian program has reached a point officially described as being within two to three months of building a nuclear weapon. Under the proposed agreement, for 10 years Iran will never be further than one year from a nuclear weapon and, after a decade, will be significantly closer.

They noted further that "Iran permanently gives up none of its equipment, facilities or fissile product" and questioned the process by which an Iranian violation of the deal could be detected in time.

"The physical magnitude of the effort is daunting," they write. "Is the International Atomic Energy Agency technically, and in terms of human resources, up to so complex and vast an assignment?" implying that it is not.

In a large country with multiple facilities and ample experience in nuclear concealment, violations will be inherently difficult to detect. Devising theoretical models of inspection is one thing. Enforcing compliance, week after week, despite competing international crises and domestic distractions, is another.

Kissinger and Shultz's public statement is a significant one, due to both men's
status as highly respected veteran diplomats. Moreover, they are both seen as "realists," rather than ideologically driven liberals or neoconservatives. President Obama has often defended his approach to Iran as a realist one, making Kissinger and Shultz's criticism particularly biting.