Following the the approval by the US congress for the extension of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) that would expire at the end of 2016 for another decade, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that his commitment to “preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons” has not changed as he looks forward to discussing “this bad deal” will President-elect Donald Trump when he assumes office on 20 January. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) commonly referred to as a the nuclear agreement between Iran and the so-called P5+1 was reached in July 2015. Trump, during his presidential campaign, described it as a “disaster” and “the worst deal ever negotiated.”
Tehran has protested against the renewal of the ISA warning that it could jeopardize the nuclear agreement. Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif stressed that Iran “will not allow any party to unilaterally undertake any actions” that violate the deal during a joint press conference with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing. Minister Yi pointed out that the implementation of the agreement is the “joint responsibility and duty of all parties” and that “should not be affected by any changes in the domestic situations of the countries concerned.”
The agreement came into force in January and calls on the Washington to refrain from re-introducing or re-imposing nuclear related sanctions on Iran but the U.S has been reluctant in lifting them. Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) of the U.S Senate, when tabling the renewal motion of the ISA, stated that “the goal was to significant foreign investment in Iran’s energy sector – denying the Iranian regime the ability to financially support international terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and missile proliferation.” The act was first introduced in 1996 to target Iran and Libya’s nuclear program but the latter has been removed from the list.
Iran and Israel have been at odds and they mutually consider each other as a security threat to one another and to the region as a whole. President Trump’s arrival at the White House is expected to further intensify it as he vows to renegotiate the terms of the deal and increase its enforcement.
Iran warns US after renewal of nuclear-related sanctions
