But even after it took effect in January, the US maintained primary sanctions linked to Iran’s human rights record and ballistic missile testing – blocking Tehran from dollar transactions and leaving banks anxious they could still be prosecuted for doing business with the country, despite repeated assurances from Washington that they will not.
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“The U.S. Senate and Congress have approved bills against us since the implementation of the JCPOA and Obama [the U.S. president] has signed some of them”, he lamented.
Upcoming elections in both the USA and Iran could yield new leaders determined to derail the deal.
But for now, the seven-nation nuclear pact is holding. It shut down thousands of centrifuges for enriching uranium and exported nearly its entire stockpile of the bomb-making material. And a third would attempt to block Iran’s access to the American dollar.
The agreement caused “great optimism” in Iran on “unrelated issues”, Baeidinejad said, but those expectations are “fortunately being balanced and adjusted to reality”.
“The U.S. used this deal to put more pressure on us, trying to make us change our behavior in the Middle East or give up our ties with (Lebanese militia) Hezbollah”, said Amir Mohebbian, a Tehran-based political analyst with ties to politicians of all hues.
The Institute for Science and International Security, a leading authority in the field of nuclear technology and proliferation, said the Free Beacon’s report is proof the Obama administration is continuing to let Iran slide on its commitments under last summer’s nuclear accord. The Iranians have disabled a heavy water plant that would have produced plutonium usable in a weapon.
The airline sector is one of the few USA industries that opened to Iran following the agreement, with Boeing announcing in June a $17.6-billion deal to sell 80 passenger jets to Iran Air.
One year after agreement on the comprehensive nuclear deal between Iran and the six world powers and six months after its implementation, many Iranians are still not feeling the economic benefits of the lifting of sanctions.
“Heavy water is a critical product that can be used in a variety of industry, medical and research applications, including in the development of certain semiconductor devices and for nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)”, the official said.
“The Obama administration’s deal … to purchase heavy water demonstrates a disturbing, potentially illegal, willingness of the administration to subsidize Iran’s nuclear program”, Pompeo, R-Kansas, said.
While the USA and Iran still do not have formal diplomatic relations, Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif developed a close working relationship during the negotiations and remain in regular contact.
He proposed tougher sanctions on Iran and a return to America’s pre-deal posture of keeping “all options on the table – including military force – to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon”. Chris Coons, a fence-sitting Democrat a year ago who ultimately backed the accord.
But he also assured Iranians that Iran is “completely ready” and able to restore its nuclear program quickly if other parties violate the deal.
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The Democrats also called on McCarthy to bring forward a clean bill to reauthorize the Iran Sanctions Act, which is set to expire on December 26.
