Mixed messages from US on Iran
President Trump has extended waivers to nuclear-related sanctions concerning Iran (14 September), while the Department of the Treasury’s Office for Foreign Assets Control (‘OFAC’) has designated a number of people and entities with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (‘IRGC’), as well as two private Iranian computer security companies accused of cyber attacks on US targets (15 September).
President Trump has until 15 October to certify to Congress that Iran is complying with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (‘JCPOA’), the nuclear deal agreed between Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, UK, US plus Germany) and the EU in 2015.
Possibly, the extension of sanctions waivers is an interim tactic, as Trump has repeatedly spoken out against the JCPOA, accusing Tehran of violating the deal. In his first address to the United Nations General Assembly, on 19 September, he re-iterated his view that:
‘The Iran deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the US has ever entered into. Frankly, that deal is an embarrassment to the United States, and I don’t think you’ve heard the last of it. Believe me.’
UN watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (‘IAEA’) confirmed in its latest quarterly report that Iran is keeping to its obligations under the agreement, with its stockpile of low-enriched uranium at less than one-third of that permitted under the JCPOA, and its stockpile of heavy water below the agreed limit.
The other signatories to the JCPOA have indicated that they will continue to certify Iran’s compliance. The UK’s ambassador to Tehran, Nicholas Hopton said in an interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency on 29 August that:
‘I cannot speak for the government of the United States of America. The British government, however, is fully committed to the JCPOA and to its successful implementation.’
If President Trump decides not to certify the deal in October, Congress would have 60 days to decide whether to reinstate nuclear-related sanctions.
For more information on OFAC’s recent designations see:
https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20170914.aspx
