Alwaght- The US House of Representatives in mid-November voted overwhelmingly to extend the expiring Iran sanctions.
The legislation, known as the Iran Sanctions Extension Act, needs Senate approval and President Obama’s signature before the end of the year, when American sanctions are set to expire.
The Iranian officials have called the new extension of longstanding anti-Tehran sanctions as running counter to the terms of the nuclear deal signed between Iran and the six world powers. They say such restrictions have discouraged many foreign companies from investing in Iran, subverting the economic rewards it expected from the nuclear agreement.
Under the nuclear agreement, known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), many sanctions were expected to be lifted, however, only part of them were suspended and Tehran argues that Washington declined to fulfill pledges for full relaxation of sanctions.
There are some points about the recent move of the US House's lawmakers against Iran and the American developments following the November 8 presidential election:
1. Obama is to be held accountable for all of the House's anti-Iranian measures and of course he should be also responsible for frequent violations of the nuclear accord.
2. Obama’s promise to veto bill that would block sales of Boeing jetliners to Iran is just a small step in his big duty of commitment to the nuclear deal. Iran’s demand for access to the global financial system and real facilitation of banking cooperation with Tehran remains a key and outstanding request from the US president.
3. The current US government adopts a policy of running with the hare and haunting with the hounds as it on the one hand shows a green light to Boeing plane sales to the Islamic Republic to pretend commitment to the nuclear agreement and on the other hand goes to great lengths to find ways to breach the deal and impose new sanctions or renew the old and expiring sanctions on Tehran in a bid to buy contentment of the anti-JCPOA American sides as well as the Israeli lobbies in the US. In other words, the Obama administration tries to adopt a double-standard approach to manage the case until its term is over by the end of the year.
4. Iran’s Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei, following House’s bill to extend the 10-year anti-Iranian sanctions, said that the present US government made many violations in case of the nuclear deal. The very latest of them was extension Iran Sanctions Extension Act that for 10 years. The Leader asserted that approval of the extension bill will certainly be violation of nuclear deal, warning that the Islamic Republic will give definite response to this Washington move.
5. One of the main and most important consequences of the extension of Iran sanctions by the US government is a possible Tehran reaction against the nuclear deal. It seems that extending the sanctions will put the nuclear deal on a shaky ground, and the Iranian side will reciprocate according to the Western measures.
The renewal of the US sanctions by the current US government could bring forth serious repercussions, and even before end of the Obama term in office the deal could be subject to challenges and even irreparable threats.
