“The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached one year ago removed the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran while illustrating the power of economic sanctions, coupled with tough diplomacy, to bring about a safer world”, Lew said.
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There are concerns the upcoming elections in both the USA and Iran could derail the deal if certain leaders are elected.
Heavy water is an important by-product of producing nuclear weapons and energy, but it is not radioactive.
The House voted 246 to 179 to pass new sanctions on Iran, and 246 to 181 to block Iran’s access to the USA financial system including the use of the dollar, Reuters reports.
The Iranian sanctions measures were among the last items passed by the House before Congress left Washington for a seven-week summer recess.
Other sponsors include Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who recently withdrew his name as a potential GOP vice-presidential candidate; U.S. Sen.
They argued that Obama was so eager to bolster his foreign policy legacy that he agreed to sanctions relief Iran did not deserve because it lied about its nuclear program, supported militant groups that attack USA allies and perpetrated human rights abuses. Hence, the deal will not only have a direct impact on Iran’s relations with its regional counterparts but also cause tremors across West Asia.
“What is most striking to me today is that Iran has in fact taken the necessary steps to dramatically constrain its nuclear program, the nuclear deal has been implemented, and the dire predictions that opponents of the deal made have simply been proved wrong”, Ambassador Stephen Mull, the State Department’s lead coordinator for Iran nuclear implementation, said Tuesday during panel discussion. But anti-Western hardliners also reasserted themselves, and the financial windfall that many Iranians had come to expect from lifting of sanctions has not materialized. Most multinational businesses have continued to avoid the Iranian market, largely due to the unwillingness of global banks to finance or otherwise facilitate Iran-related transactions.
But he also assured Iranians that Iran is “completely ready” and able to restore its nuclear program quickly if other parties violate the deal. Despite multiple warnings about how Iran would not comply with the legislation, the White House moved forward with the signatures and, as expected, Iran has not been a cooperative partner as they promised.
The proposal introduced by the lawmakers seeks to expand sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile projects, sanction transfers of conventional weapons to or from Iran and extend the Iran Sanctions Act which expires by the end of 2016, according to Reuters.
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Iran is barred from conducting ballistic missile tests for eight years under UN Resolution 2231, which went effect July 20, 2015, days after the nuclear accord was signed. But Republican leaders wanted “political theater”, he said, and they hustled Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo’s bill to the House floor and barred any amendments to the legislation. In this context it notes the extensive guidance that was provided on the scope of sanctions lifted and those that remain in place.
