MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: When he was negotiating the nuclear deal with Iran, Secretary Kerry spent many hours with his Iranian counterpart, and Kerry is now suggesting that relationship with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was key in getting the US sailors back.
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US Secretary of State John Kerry has welcomed the release of the sailors, hailing it as an indication of improved relations between the countries.
The final implementation of the nuclear deal is likely to herald the lifting of sanctions on the Islamic Republic, which have been in place since 2006 due to global concerns that Iran was developing nuclear weapons.
Iran’s media said on Thursday that at least 20 foreign banks have announced readiness to cooperate with the country over global transaction issues as soon as the sanctions against Tehran are lifted. USA officials say the Department of Defense is debriefing the sailors about the videos and that it would be premature to say whether any Geneva violation had been committed. The House bill would bar the removal of certain individuals and foreign financial institutions on a restricted list kept by the Treasury Department until the president certifies to Congress that they weren’t involved in Iran’s ballistic missiles program or in terrorist activities.
According to the United States official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a private diplomatic exchange, Kerry’s success in the negotiation was testament to the closer ties developed between the governments during negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal.
Yet it’s hard to conceive how anyone in Iran would oppose the deal when the U.S.is giving them $100 billion for their troubles. They are once again reveling in the opportunity to humiliate the United States, certain in the knowledge that a weak president Obama will not want to jeopardize his one big foreign policy achievement – the apparent nuclear de-weaponizing of Iran.
The Republican-backed Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act passed with a vote tallying 191-106 on Wednesday.
The official, like others across the administration, insisted that Kerry didn’t apologize to Zarif at any point, though Kerry did offer an explanation.
International inspectors will now verify the job and will send their report to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Kamalvandi said.
“Since the advent of the [nuclear] deal in July, Iran has become more aggressive in the region, more repressive at home and less compliant with its arms control obligations”, Takeyh said.
One of the sailors spoke to a reporter in Iran before being turned over to the U.S. Video released by Iran news agencies showed him saying the treatment was “fantastic”, and he thanked Iran for its hospitality and assistance.
So, what does the incident and the way it was handled reveal about Iran’s internal politics as well as the current administration’s approach towards Iran?
The deal with Iran resolved a decade-long conflict over Tehran’s controversial nuclear program.
Tehran has drastically reduced the number of centrifuges installed at the Fordow and Natanz enrichment sites within the last few months, and shipped tonnes of low-enriched uranium materials to Russian Federation.
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“The government is running the country under sanctions not under normal circumstances”.
