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The Nuclear Agreement’s Aftermath

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Abstract

This chapter discusses the major events that have occurred after signing the nuclear agreement, covering the rivalry of major powers to benefit from commercial relations with Iran despite the continuations of the U.S. sanctions. It describes how the U.S. policies toward Iran changed under President Donald Trump and the fallout of the U.S. exit from the agreement. It also discusses the reaction of the European states to the extraterritorial sanctions that the U.S. has imposed on their companies and banks that deal with Iran.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Photo at Khamenei website, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iran-russia-idUSKBN0TC1M520151123.

  2. 2.

    Iran’s Leader Says, He Never Trusted the West, Seeks Closer Ties with China, Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, January 23, 2016, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-china/irans-leader-says-never-trusted-the-west-seeks-closer-ties-with-china-idUSKCN0V109V, Chinese President Meets Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei, http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-01/24/c_135039034.htm.

  3. 3.

    SCO now has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its full members.

  4. 4.

    Iran and the SCO: A Long Political Gestation, by Jacopo Scita, http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2018/08/30/iran-and-the-sco-a-long-political-gestation/.

  5. 5.

    Iran Membership in SCO Underlined by Member States, June 26, 2016, http://www.iran-daily.com/News/153914.html.

  6. 6.

    Total Signs Deal with Iran, Exposing It to Big Risks and Rewards, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/03/business/energy-environment/iran-total-france-gas-energy.html.

  7. 7.

    Norway’s Saga Energy to Build Solar Plants in Iran, http://www.eiu.com/industry/article/1146005698/norways-saga-energy-to-build-solar-plants-in-iran/2017-10-18.

  8. 8.

    Grievances Conveyed to U.S., December 5, 2016, https://financialtribune.com/articles/national/54758/isa-grievances-conveyed-to-us.

  9. 9.

    Exclusive: Iran Missile Tests were ‘in Defiance of’ U.N. Resolution—U.S. Allies, by Louis Charbonnea, March 29, 2016, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-missiles/exclusive-iran-missile-tests-were-in-defiance-of-u-n-resolution-u-s-allies-idUSKCN0WV2HE.

  10. 10.

    Trump Signs Sweeping Sanctions Bill Targeting Russia, Iran and North Korea, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-signs-sweeping-sanctions-bill-targeting-russia-iran-and-north-korea/.

  11. 11.

    http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/19/the-legacy-of-irans-powerful-cleric-akbar-hashemi-rafsanjani/.

  12. 12.

    Statement by National Security Advisor Michael T. Flynn on Iran, Issued on February 3, 2017, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-national-security-advisor-michael-t-flynn-iran/.

  13. 13.

    Iran-related Designations: Non-proliferation Designations, May 17, 2017, https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20170517.aspx.

  14. 14.

    H.R.3364—Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act, https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/3364.

  15. 15.

    S.722—Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017, 115th Congress (2017–2018), https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/722/text.

  16. 16.

    U.S. Reveals Troops on the Ground in Yemen, by Andrew Tilghman, https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2016/05/06/u-s-reveals-troops-on-the-ground-in-yemen/.

  17. 17.

    Article 29. The EU and its Member States and the United States, consistent with their respective laws, will refrain from any policy specifically intended to directly and adversely affect the normalization of trade and economic relations with Iran inconsistent with their commitments not to undermine the successful implementation of this JCPOA.

  18. 18.

    Remarks by President Trump on Iran Strategy, Issued on October 13, 2017, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-iran-strategy/.

  19. 19.

    Trump Issues Ultimatum to ‘Fix’ Iran Nuclear Deal, by Steve Holland, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-decision/trump-to-extend-iran-sanctions-relief-keeping-nuclear-deal-intact-source-idUSKBN1F108F.

  20. 20.

    Statement by the President on the Iran Nuclear Deal, Issued on January 12, 2018, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-president-iran-nuclear-deal/.

  21. 21.

    Adam Kredo, Iran Warns Trump Against Disclosing Secret Iran Deal Documents, February 15, 2017, http://freebeacon.com/national-security/iran-warns-trump-disclosing-secret-iran-deal-documents/.

  22. 22.

    Statement by President Donald J. Trump on Nowruz, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-president-donald-j-trump-nowruz/.

  23. 23.

    Trump Fires Tillerson: President Swings Axe After Series of Policy Clashes, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/mar/13/rex-tillerson-fired-donald-trump.

  24. 24.

    https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/jcpoa_winddown_faqs.pdf.

  25. 25.

    After the Deal: A New Iran Strategy, Remarks by Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, May 21, 2018, https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2018/05/282301.htm.

  26. 26.

    Supporting Iranian Voices, Remarks by Michael R. Pompeo Secretary of State, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library, Simi Valley, CA, July 22, 2018, https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2018/07/284292.htm.

  27. 27.

    Remarks on the Creation of the Iran Action Group, August 16, 2018, https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2018/08/285183.htm.

  28. 28.

    U.S. Urges EU Sanctions on Iran Over “Escalating Missile Threat,” https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-urges-eu-sanctions-on-iran-over-escalating-missile-threat-/29635534.html.

  29. 29.

    Pompeo and Mnuchin, Press Conference on October 5, 2018.

  30. 30.

    U.S. Withdraws from 1955 Treaty Normalizing Relations with Iran, by Edward Wong and David E. Sanger, October 3, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/03/world/middleeast/us-withdraws-treaty-iran.html.

  31. 31.

    Harry L. Clark, “Dealing with U.S. Extraterritorial Sanctions and Foreign Countermeasures, “University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, Vol. 20 (1999), p. 61. Available at https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/jil/vol20/iss1/2.

  32. 32.

    Amending the Annex to Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 of 22 November 1996 protecting against the effects of extraterritorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, and actions based thereon or resulting therefrom, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=pi_com%3AC%282018%293572.

  33. 33.

    Letter dated June 4, 2018, posted at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/714262/Joint_E3_letter_on_JCPoA.pdf.

  34. 34.

    Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act, R.S.C., ch. F-29, §7(1)(a) (1985) (Can.), as amended, R.S.C., ch. 28, §6 (1997).

  35. 35.

    Updated Blocking Statute in Support of Iran Nuclear Deal Enters into Force, Brussels, 6 August 2018, http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-4805_en.htm.

  36. 36.

    INSTEX: Europe Sets up Transactions Channel with Iran https://www.dw.com/en/instex-europe-sets-up-transactions-channel-with-iran/a-47303580.

  37. 37.

    Iran Nuclear Deal: Joint Statement by UK, France and Germany, Published 2 November 2018, Foreign & Commonwealth Office. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-by-the-uk-france-and-germany-on-the-iran-nuclear-deal.

  38. 38.

    Sadeq Larijani belongs to a family whose members hold some key political positions in the regime.

  39. 39.

    Will the Larijani Brothers Go for Ahmadinejad’s Jugular?, Reza Haghighatneja, December 16, 2017, https://iranwire.com/en/features/5038.

  40. 40.

    Iran Stages Pro-government Rallies, Derides Trump ‘Blunder’ at U.N., January 5, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-rallies/iran-stages-pro-government-rallies-derides-trump-blunder-at-u-n-idUSKBN1EU16G.

  41. 41.

    Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzya said point attention to the danger of geopolitical engineering such Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen.

  42. 42.

    Iran Sanctions, https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/pages/iran.aspx.

  43. 43.

    Iran Tries to Unify Exchange Rates To Halt Currency Decline, April 10, 2018, https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-looks-to-unify-exchange-rates-to-halt-currency-fall/29156130.html.

  44. 44.

    The author estimated this in a paper presented at ISA, September 2018. Based on estimates of Iran’s GDP in 2017 of about $460 billion and its export of $98 billion and import of $63 billion, a rough estimate of how much Iran’s economy may suffer from the sanctions can be computed. Assuming an average price of Brent oil at about $55, Iran’s oil exports reduction for a year will be about ($55 × 1.2 × 365) or $ 24,090, which is about 5.2% of the $460 billion GDP.

  45. 45.

    Johan Galtung, On the Effects of International Economic Sanctions: With Examples from the Case of Rhodesia, World Politics, Vol. 19, No. 3 (April 1967), pp. 378–416.

  46. 46.

    Wall Street Journal, U.S. to End Iran Oil Waivers to Drive Tehran’s Exports to Zero, https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to-end-iran-oil-waivers-to-drive-tehrans-exports-to-zero-11555898664.

  47. 47.

    Currently about one-fourth of Iran’s oil is exported to China, which is about 7% of China’s oil import.

  48. 48.

    FATF, Public Statement—February 2019, https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/high-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/documents/public-statement-february-2019.html.

  49. 49.

    President Rouhani Signs off on U.S. CENTCOM Terrorist Designation Law, April 30, 2019, https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/04/30/594766/Iran-United-States-CENTCOM-terrorist-organization-law-Rouhani.

  50. 50.

    Iran’s Khordad 3 SAM System Shoots down U.S. Drone, June 20, 2019, https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/06/20/599007/US-drone-Khordad-3-air-defense-missile-IRGC.

  51. 51.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oil-iran/if-iran-can-not-export-oil-then-no-country-will-export-oil-from-the-gulf-iran-president-idUSKBN1O30MI.

  52. 52.

    Statement from President Donald J. Trump on Standing with Saudi Arabia, Issued on November 20, 2018, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-president-donald-j-trump-standing-saudi-arabia/.

  53. 53.

    Noam Chomsky, Failed States, p. 75.

  54. 54.

    Adam Tarock, p. 1409. The Iran Nuclear Deal: Winning a Little, Losing a Lot, May 2016, pp. 1408–1424.

  55. 55.

    The estimate was indicated by President Ahmadinejad.

  56. 56.

    Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/tpnw/.

  57. 57.

    Pompeo Condemns Iran Missile Test, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-pompeo/pompeo-condemns-iran-missile-test-idUSKCN1O03OI.

  58. 58.

    Non-Proliferation Debate Exposes Rift as Secretary of State, Permanent Representative Exchange Several Accusations, December 12, 2018, https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13615.doc.htm

  59. 59.

    U.S. Warns Iran on Space Iaunches, Tehran Rejects Concerns Doina Chiac, January 3, 2019, https://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN1OX114-OCATP.

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Correspondence to Akbar E. Torbat .

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Torbat, A.E. (2020). The Nuclear Agreement’s Aftermath. In: Politics of Oil and Nuclear Technology in Iran. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33766-7_12

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