Congressional approval vital for success of new Iran deal

Although the ongoing negotiations to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal involve seven parties – China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Iran and Germany – the two key players in the talks are America and the Islamic Republic.

The Biden administration should be aware that what really matters to the Iranian regime is for the US government to lift its sanctions on Tehran’s energy, banking and shipping sectors, as well as on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Quds Force. .

In other words, as long as the United States does not agree to the nuclear deal, the positions of the other parties do not really matter to Iran. After all, the United States plays a key role in the global financial system.

If Washington’s sanctions against the Islamic Republic remain in place, the Iranian regime will not be able to reap the benefits of a new nuclear deal because many companies and businesses will be unwilling to trade or deal with Tehran for fear of repercussions. These include jeopardizing their business in the United States, risking their access to major global financial institutions, and possibly even being sanctioned by the US Department of Justice.

It should be noted that the US market capitalization is about 50 times that of the Islamic Republic. While the Iranian stock market is estimated to be worth around $1 trillion, the US is worth almost $49 trillion, which is around 41% of the global market capitalization.

Accordingly, the Biden administration should be aware that the ball is in Washington’s court, not Iran. If the White House is serious about reaching a permanent and effective nuclear deal with the Iranian government that will curb its nuclear advancement and address the threat the regime poses to the Middle East, it should seek congressional approval.

In addition, the United States should refrain from lifting any sanctions against Tehran that are unrelated to its nuclear program, such as those related to its human rights abuses, its ballistic missile program, terrorism and the IRGC and the Quds Force.

Although it was reported that the Biden administration would not remove the IRGC from the US list of foreign terrorist organizations, Iranian envoy Robert Malley sadly suggested during a Senate hearing last week that removing the IRGC of the list of terrorists was not entirely off the table. He said: “We had made it clear to Iran that if they wanted a concession on something unrelated to the JCPOA – like the FTO designation – we needed something reciprocal from them that would meet to our concerns.” But he declined to clarify what the administration is asking the Iranian regime to deregister the IRGC.

Malley suggested that the Biden administration submit a final version of the nuclear deal to Congress for consideration. Still, that’s not enough, as the White House should impress upon US lawmakers, as well as Iran’s leaders, that it will not move forward with a nuclear deal until Congress has it. not officially approved. If we recall, the Obama administration said Congress would have the opportunity to review the original 2015 nuclear deal, but Barack Obama eventually went ahead and struck a deal with the Iranian regime without the Capitol approval.

The United States should also refrain from lifting any sanctions against Tehran that are unrelated to its nuclear program.

Dr Majid Rafizadeh

The JCPOA was unfortunately finalized by executive order, not congressional approval, allowing Obama’s successor, Donald Trump, to rescind it without consulting lawmakers. If the same thing happens this time, it will most likely collapse again. In March, 49 US senators warned in a joint statement: “By all indications, the Biden administration appears to have given the store away. The administration appears to have agreed to lift sanctions that were not even imposed on Iran for its nuclear activities in the first place, but rather because of its continued support for terrorism and gross violations of human rights. man… A major deal that doesn’t have strong bipartisan support in Congress won’t survive.

If Biden wants any updated nuclear deal with Iran to survive, he must submit it for congressional approval.

• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

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