“Everybody is happy except the Zionists, the warmongers who are fueling sectarian war among Islamic nations and the hard-liners in the U.S. Congress”. That debate is now mostly moot; the ultimate verdict will only come with the passage of time. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has controlled its nuclear undertakings. “Today marks the first day of a safer world”, Kerry declared in Vienna.
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In the White House, Obama read off each of their names and offered words of praise for their work in Iran.
The move followed confirmation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran has complied with the terms of July 2015 landmark deal – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPO) – which provides restrictions and international verification of Iran’s nuclear energy program to ensure it is only able to be used for peaceful purposes. An earlier State Department statement said “those who wished to depart Iran have left”.
In the months leading up this past weekend’s implementation of the nuclear deal, Iranian authorities pursued a renewed crackdown on free expression, jailing several writers and artists, including award-winning filmmaker Keywan Karimi.
As The Wall Street Journal notes, “Iran gets back men who were assisting its military ambitions while we get innocents”.
For their part, critics of the JCPOA have maintained that their stance is based on security considerations, not on a politically motivated wish to undercut the President. That will complicate American companies’ ability to do business in the Islamic Republic.
If both opponents and supporters have been telling the truth, it ought to be clear that moving forward, the US and its allies need to pivot from the kid-glove requirements of diplomacy to a single-minded effort to prevent Iran from turning this moment into an opportunity to wreak more havoc in the Middle East.
Oil revenues will make up less than 25 percent of the proposed budget for the next Iranian calendar year that begins March 21, down from 33 percent the previous year.
How will Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States respond, as the United Arab Emirates in 2009, had renounced its nuclear uranium enrichment as part of its civilian nuclear agreement with the United States, will they reconsider that pledge, how will this impact other Sunni countries?
They worry that Iran is growing stronger and will continue to expand its influence in the region, with devastating consequences. Most of the world is focused on how this could drive oil prices even lower, but Iranians are asking: Will Tehran get McDonald’s fries now? They said Iran needed to understand the fighting would not be resolved as long as Syrian president Bashar Assad remained in power.
Ryan Crocker, dean of the George Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University, served as ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon for four presidents between 1990 and 2012. That amount is likely to increase.
Obama had vowed to continue to apply non-nuclear sanctions, even after last summer’s nuclear agreement had been signed. The Obama administration delayed a response for fear of undercutting the nuclear deal. What about outrage? Humiliation at the hands of the Iranians has become a sad hallmark of the Obama Administration. That will require a major psychological shift.
In exchange for the release of the Americans, the US will either pardon or drop charges against seven Iranians – six of them dual citizens – accused or convicted of violating USA sanctions. But primary sanctions barring involvement by US individuals and companies in Iran predating the nuclear controversy largely remain intact, according to guidance from USA officials issued Saturday. It is an important day for the global community.
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Still, next month’s parliamentary elections, and those for the Assembly of Experts, will reflect whether the Iran nuclear deal has produced any change in the balance of power between reformers and hardline conservatives.
