Earlier in January, the White House postponed the sanctions planned by the Treasury Department against individuals in Iran, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates following Iran’s missile testing in October and November.
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DAVOS, Switzerland-Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif described a US decision to impose new sanctions on Iran because of a recent ballistic-missile test as “bizarre” in the face of much heavier military spending by Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Gulf.
United Nations sanctions have been lifted against Iran because it was found to be in compliance with the nuclear agreement it struck with six major western powers that blocks its ability to use nuclear technology to build a bomb.
Iran has also underscored frequently that its military might poses no threat to other countries and that the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine is entirely based on deterrence.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking in Zurich after talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday, said the peace talks should start this month as planned, despite lack of agreement so far on who should participate.
In addition, American companies can sell civilian aircraft to Iran, and the US permits imports of certain Iranian products, like carpets, caviar, and pistachios, the New York Times reports.
A Swiss plane left Iran on Sunday with Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post’s Tehran bureau chief; Saeed Abedini, a pastor from Idaho; and Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine from MI, as well as some family members.
Republicans in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail have been highly critical of the Iran nuclear deal.
An empowered regime is worrisome, says Emanuele Ottolenghi, a senior fellow and sanctions expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Jim Phillips, an expert on the Middle East at The Heritage Foundation, argues that the hardliners in the regime will use the sanctions relief to expand its influence in conflicts where it is already present. “In Syria and Yemen, Iran has escalated the fighting, not pushed for a diplomatic solution”. “The picture that was taken to show there was no mistreatment”, he said.
“I see him as a cold-eyed realist on this”, Nephew said.
In exchange for the release of five USA prisoners in Iran, the U.S. dropped charges against seven Iranians, accused of violating trade sanctions and canceled warrants against 14 others, and paid almost $2 billion to settle a financial dispute.
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Herrenknecht, a German tunneling company which helped build the Tehran metro in the 1990s, is ready to bid for projects in Iran, said the company’s chairman. “If not, you review your options and go in a different direction”.
