House OKs bills to crack down on Syria, renew Iran sanctions

The Senate had been juggling three proposals to extend the Iran Sanctions Act, which lays out energy, banking and defense-related restrictions over Iran’s nuclear and missile activities, and expires at the end of the year.

“The Obama administration has said that sanctions on Iran would “snap back” were this to happen”, he said.

“… But it is very hard for them to ringfence their Iran business, to create Chinese walls in order not to touch USA dollars or a U.S. person and that makes it very hard for very large banks to run these operations”, he said.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran was indifferent to the result of the United States vote, insisting the Iranian nation was “not worried” about the future and was ready for any fallout from the election. “We are also not anxious”. US federal courts have found Iran liable for incidents ranging from the 1983 US Marine barracks bombing in Beirut to attacks upon innocent schoolchildren in Jerusalem and the tragic attack upon America on September 11, 2001. Trump repeatedly described the JCPOA with Iran as the “worst agreement ever” and promised to “dismantle” it.

“Actually what these folks are hoping is to create an environment in which the United States does not pull out of the agreement, but the Iranians pull out of the agreement so the United States is not blamed for it”, Farhi said.

The US could legally withdraw from the deal, but all the other signatories have pledged to honour it – this means that pulling out unilaterally would leave Washington isolated on the hot-button issue.

The agreement was struck in July 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 group comprising the U.S., France, China, Britain, Russia and Germany.

Berman went on to say, “Only time will tell whether the incoming Trump administration will adopt a new, harsher policy on Iran – and whether that will change how Moscow thinks about Tehran”.

“Our experience shows that President Reagan was more helpful to Iran during the war with Iraq”, said Juni, the analyst.

Large companies with prior experience working with Iran know its potential, Ghorbani said, adding that his nation stands by commitments included in the nuclear deal. On Monday other European Union ministers in Brussels also reiterated their support for the deal.

Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, said after arriving in Baghdad late Monday, “We had an agreement in Istanbul”. “My guess is that the president-elect will pursue those and over time really make a final decision as to how he wants to deal with this issue”. In the next two months, the Obama administration can be expected to try to protect the JCPOA, perhaps by trying to put Iran beyond the reach of USA economic pressure. “Turning a blind eye – by President Obama and other organizations and powers – to Iran’s violations will only further empower and embolden Tehran and its Revolutionary Guards to pursue their nuclear and hegemonic ambitions; ignore United Nations resolutions and global laws; scuttle USA foreign policy objectives, and damage security interests”. Furthermore, the experts together with former officials from both major political parties argued that the nuclear deal had decreased the threat of war in the Middle East.

He made the remarks during a meeting with residents of the central Iranian province of Isfahan on November 16, the supreme leader’s official website reported. Iran has already detained at least four or five dual nationals since the release of the four American prisoners, refilling their stock of hostages.

Even a cursory perusal of the Rouhani-affiliated media, such as Iran, Etemad and Arman newspapers, among others, indicates more than a passing level of anxiety about his chances in the wake of Trump’s election.

The resistance council is associated with the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or People’s Muhajedeen of Iran, which Washington once listed as a terrorist organization.

Still, the outgoing administration has not indicated an intention to veto ISA reauthorization. Mr. Trump, Mr. Bolton wrote, should “abrogate in his first days in office”.