Iran: Aggravating New US Sanctions ‘Illegitimate’

On July 14, 2015 China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (US), the European Union (EU), and Iran reached the JCPOA deal to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful.

“If the administration will not impose tougher sanctions … we’re going to be introducing sanctions legislation that I’m working on to impose tough new sanctions on Iran”, said Sen.

“Iran is not going to change dramatically in the next year or two years”, said a senior administration official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Vahid Salemi/APIn this picture taken on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008, Iranian Revolutionary Guards members march during a parade ceremony, marking the 28th anniversary of the onset of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), in front of the mausoleum of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran.

“Japan would like to strengthen our cooperative relationship with Iran further and contribute to the peace and stability of the Middle East through our traditional friendly relationship with Iran”, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

Of course, we are thankful that the Americans held hostage by Iran are now free. It was an honest mistake, but as a naval flight officer who served five years in a hot war in Southeast Asia and for another 18 years as a P-3 aircraft mission commander, it is a mistake we never want to make. He pushed back at the Obama Administration’s insistence that the speed with which Iran returned the US sailors it held captive is a sign of improved relations stemming from the deal.

Despite lingering tensions between Iran and the United States despite the nuclear deal, he said, “the United States can take steps to overcome this mistrust”, he said, such as through implementation of the nuclear agreement. Only hours after Obama ordered the lifting of sanctions over the nuclear program, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the country would continue to enhance its missile capabilities in defiance of a United Nations ban and despite worldwide sanctions against those activities. A day later Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened that Tehran would accelerate the development of its arsenal, and a day after that Obama backed down and delayed the new sanctions. “So it’s just preposterous to cry wolf about Iran’s ballistic missile program while at the same time you are selling the United States is selling tens of billions of dollars worth of toys to our neighbors”.

Things might have been different if the foreign policy file were truly in the hands of Zarif, a sophisticated diplomat who did graduate studies in the United States.

The US added new sanctions on Sunday against companies that have contributed to Iran’s ballistic missile program.

Now that global sanctions against Iran have been lifted, the Islamic Republic’s relations with its neighbors, in particular Saudi Arabia, are being closely watched.

Kerry said IRGC and other terrorist groups would still be subject to separate sanctions should the new money be used toward attacks.

The Republican Party and critics of the Iran deal, however, have been less than overjoyed (not surprisingly!) due to their mistrust of the Iranian government’s intentions. “We will have to try and act as a Congress”, said Sen. There are numerous risks for any potential entrepreneur; USA citizens, for example, would still be barred from doing business with Iranian partners tied to terrorism or human rights abuses.

Russian and USA cooperation could prove critical for achieving a successful IAEA mission, particularly if Tehran rejects an Agency request of access to its suspect nuclear sites.