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Trump Administration Maintains Nuclear Deal with Iran, Despite Persistent Skepticism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2017

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Extract

Iran, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Germany, and the European Union agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in July 2015. Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit the scope and content of its nuclear program in exchange for relief from various nuclear-related sanctions imposed by the other signatories. Throughout his campaign, President Donald Trump denounced the JCPOA. He said that, if elected, he would “renegotiate with Iran—right after … enabl[ing] the immediate release of our American prisoners and ask[ing] Congress to impose new sanctions that stop Iran from having the ability to sponsor terrorism around the world.” So far, however, the Trump administration has kept the agreement in place. The United States has continued to acknowledge Iran's compliance with the terms of the JCPOA and has waived various sanctions against Iran in compliance with its own obligations thereunder. Iran, by contrast, has charged the United States with failing to live up to its own JCPOA commitments.

Type
Use of Force, Arms Control, and Nonproliferation
Information
American Journal of International Law , Volume 111 , Issue 3 , July 2017 , pp. 776 - 781
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by The American Society of International Law 

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References

1 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, July 14, 2015, 55 ILM 98, 108 (2016) [hereinafter JCPOA]. See also Daugirdas, Kristina & Mortenson, Julian Davis, Contemporary Practice of the United States, 109 AJIL 649 (2015)Google Scholar; Daugirdas, Kristina & Mortenson, Julian Davis, Contemporary Practice of the United States, 110 AJIL 789 (2016)Google Scholar [hereinafter Daugirdas & Mortenson, 110 AJIL].

2 Donald Trump, Donald Trump: Amateur Hour with the Iran Nuclear Deal, USA Today (Sept. 8, 2015), at https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/09/08/donald-trump-amateur-hour-iran-nuclear-deal-column/71884090; see also, e.g., Donald Trump, Full text of Donald Trump's speech to AIPAC (Mar. 21, 2016), available at http://www.timesofisrael.com/donald-trumps-full-speech-to-aipac (indicating that his “number-one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran”).

3 See infra note 30 and accompanying text.

4 Iran Tested Medium-Range Ballistic Missile: U.S. Official, Reuters (Jan. 30, 2017), at http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-missiles-idUSKBN15E2EZ.

5 Iran Confirms Missile Test, Drawing Tough Response from Trump Aide, Reuters (Feb. 1, 2017), at http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-missiles-idUSKBN15G3ZO.

6 White House Press Release, Statement by the National Security Advisor (Feb. 1, 2017), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/02/01/statement-national-security-advisor.

7 U.S. Dep't of the Treasury Press Release, Treasury Sanctions Supporters of Iran's Ballistic Missile Program and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—Qods Force (Feb. 3, 2017), at https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/as0004.aspx. Though this was the first time the United States imposed sanctions on Iran post-JCPOA, the United States has previously made clear its position that the JCPOA does not cover obligations relating to sanctions that are unrelated to Iran's nuclear development program. See Daugirdas & Mortenson, 110 AJIL, supra note 1, at 793.

8 Id. Executive Order 13,382 targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery and supporters of such activity. Exec. Order No. 13,382, 70 Fed. Reg. 38,567 (2005). Executive Order 13,224 targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. Executive Order 13,224, 66 Fed. Reg. 49,079 (2001).

9 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Senior Administration Officials on an Announcement from the Treasury Department on Iran (Feb. 3, 2017) at https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/02/267435.htm [hereinafter February U.S. Dep't of State Press Release].

10 Id.

11 Id. See also Boeing Press Release, Boeing, Iran Air Announce Agreement for 80 Airplanes (Dec. 11, 2016), at http://boeing.mediaroom.com/2016-12-11-Boeing-Iran-Air-Announce-Agreement-for-80-Airplanes.

12 Daugirdas & Mortenson, 110 AJIL, supra note 1, at 794.

13 S.C. Res. 2231, Annex B, para. 3 (July 20, 2015).

14 February U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, supra note 9.

15 Id.

16 Iran to Impose Legal Restrictions on Some U.S. Entities, Reuters – TV (Feb. 3, 2017), at http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-iran-idUSL5N1FO5ZO.

17 IAEA Director General, Verification and Monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in Light of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (Feb. 24, 2017), at https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/gov2017-10.pdf [hereinafter IAEA February Report].

18 Trump Administration Pledges ‘Great Strictness’ on Iran Nuclear Deal, Reuters (Mar. 7, 2017), at http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-idUSKBN16E2GZ.

19 IAEA February Report, supra note 17, at 4.

20 U.S. Statement as Delivered by Chargé d'Affaires a.i. Andrew J. Schofer, IAEA Board of Governors Meeting (Mar. 7, 2017), available at https://vienna.usmission.gov/u-s-statement-iran.

21 Letter from Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State, U.S. Dep't of State, to Paul Ryan, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (Apr. 18, 2017), at https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2017/04/270315.htm.

22 Id.

23 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Press Availability (Apr. 19, 2017), at https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2017/04/270341.htm.

24 Id.

25 All Parties to JCPOA Must Fulfill Commitments, Says Iran's IAEA Envoy, Press TV (Mar. 8, 2017), at http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/03/08/513531/Iran-IAEA-Najafi-JCPOA-nuclear-deal-US-Amano.

26 Daugirdas & Mortenson, 110 AJIL, supra note 1, at 791.

27 U.S. Defies Both Letter, Spirit of Nuclear Deal: Iran FM, Press TV (Apr. 21, 2017), at http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/04/21/518916/Iran-US-Mohammad-Javad-Zarif-JCPOA-Twitter.

28 JCPOA, supra note 1, para. 28. According to the JCPOA, government officials for the United States means senior officials of the U.S. Administration. Id., para. 28, n.1.

29 Id., para. 29.

30 U.S. State Dep't Press Release, U.S. State Department Issues Report on Human Rights Sanctions on Iran (May 17, 2017), at https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/05/270925.htm. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ambassador Stuart Jones stated the following with regards to the report: “[W]e are communicating to the U.S. Congress that the United States continues to waive sanctions as required to continue implementing U.S. sanctions-lifting commitments in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.”

31 U.S. Dep't of Treasury Press Release, Treasury Sanctions Iranian Defense Officials and a China-Based Network for Supporting Iran's Ballistic Missile Program (May 17, 2017), at https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/sm0088.aspx.

32 Id. In September 2008, pursuant to Executive Order 13,382, OFAC had designated Shiraz Electronics Industries for being owned or controlled by Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics. Id.

33 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, U.S. State Department Issues Report on Human Rights Sanctions on Iran (May 17, 2017), at https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/05/270925.htm.

34 Iran Condemns Fresh US Sanctions over Missile Program, Press TV (May 18, 2017), at http://www.presstv.com/DetailFr/2017/05/18/522318/Iran-US-sanction-missile-nuclear.

35 Id.

36 Id.

37 China Complains to U.S. About New Iran Sanctions, Reuters (May 18, 2017), at http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-usa-china-idUSKCN18E0UC.

38 Id.