Will Iran nuclear deal collapse under Trump?
The United States Senate will vote to renew sanctions on Iran for 10 years before adjourning next month
Recent developments between Iran and the US have led to speculations over the collapse of the nuclear agreement under Donald Trump who was elected president last week. There have been voices from Tehran calling for ending the agreement after the US House voted for extending the Iran Sanctions Act for 10 more years.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, however, said he is not concerned with the results of the US presidential elections. Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Shamkhani, threatened to abandon the agreement if Washington violates it.
Also read: US House OKs bills to renew Iran sanctions
Walid Fares, one of Trump’s foreign policy advisers, said in November that Trump plans to end the Iranian nuclear deal and discuss it in the Congress before resubmitting it to EU partners. He said that the next US administration will demand key changes to the agreement. American officials have also spoken about the possibility of military option against Iran if it does not fully adhere to the agreement, even if it is cancelled.
Reformists in Iran, who hope Hassan Rowhani will win a second presidential term in April, have called for direct talks with the Trump administration to discuss the deal and avoid a war. However, hardliners welcome ending the agreement as they think Iran made plenty of concessions to the West and paved the way for American and western influence in their country.
Senate to vote on sanctions
Meanwhile, Reuters reported on Thursday that the US Senate will vote to renew sanctions on Iran for 10 years before adjourning next month, the chamber’s Republican leader said on Wednesday, sending the bill to the White House, where President Barack Obama is expected to sign it into law.
“We’re going to take up the House bill,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters at the Senate’s weekly Republican leadership news conference. "... And we’re going to pass it.” The Obama administration and other world powers reached an agreement last year in which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Also read: Iran official sees no long-term negative impact from Trump election
This article is also available in Arabic at AlArabiya.Net.
