NCRI Staff
NCRI – Republican Senators Bob Corker and Tom Cotton have drafted some legislation with regards to the Iran nuclear deal and Trump’s recent decertification of it. The legislation would impose tough terms on the nuclear deal and would ensure that sanctions are restored if Iran carries out any testing on a ballistic missile that has the capability of carrying a warhead. It would also ensure that sanctions are reimposed if the Islamic Republic refuses nuclear inspectors access to any sites in the country.
However, there are some opponents to the draft legislation as there are concerns that, if it were enacted, the United States would be in violation of the nuclear deal.
On October13th, United States President Donald Trump announced that he would not be certifying Iran compliance with the nuclear deal. His speech was tough and he explained that Iran’s belligerence will not be tolerated. This was one of his toughest speeches to date with regards to Iran and he called on Congress to write legislation to ensure that the loopholes in the agreement are addressed.
Senator Bob Corker has met with Senate Democratic colleagues who insist that the United States consults and collaborates with the European co-signatories of the deal before anything is changed. Corker is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and he said to press last week that the administration acknowledges the importance of working with its allies in Europe, especially with regards to foreign policy changes.
Britain, France and Germany have warned that Trump’s decertification of the deal could eventually lead to a split between the United States and the EU. There have also been concerns for the United States’ credibility abroad as it could be perceived that Trump is going against the agreement.
The draft legislation is essentially an amendment to the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act that was passed two years ago. According to Reuters, which has seen a copy of the draft legislation, it “broadens a required administration assessment on whether Iran is complying with the pact to add factors related to issues from trade to whether Iran is using commercial aircraft licensed by the United States for non-civil aviation purposes”.
It also means that the previous crippling economic sanctions that were lifted when the agreement was signed will once again apply to Iran if it seems that it will be capable of having a nuclear weapon in the space of 12 months.
President Trump has recognised that the Iran nuclear deal is not effective and that great change is needed.
Former President Barack Obama promised that Iran’s behaviour would become more in line with what is expected by the international community if the deal was signed, but this never happened. The nuclear deal emboldened the Iranian regime.