Approval of a Bill for Increased Oversight of the JCPOA by a Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, controlled by Republicans, approved a draft bill on Thursday, January 7, that grants Congress greater powers to oversee the nuclear agreement between Iran and the 1+5 group in Vienna, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). According to the Associated Press, this approval comes at a time when, following Iran's compliance with the nuclear agreement, the U.S. government is set to lift some sanctions against the country in the coming days. The bill, named the 'Iranian Terrorist Financing Transparency Act,' will increase legislative powers to review the implementation of the nuclear agreement with Iran. However, Democratic representatives who oppose the bill view it as a last-minute Republican attempt to obstruct the implementation of the agreement with Iran. President Obama had the necessary support in Congress last year to implement this agreement, and it was not necessary to veto Republican efforts to violate it. According to the approved bill by the Foreign Affairs Committee, the removal of certain individuals or entities from the sanctions list prepared by the Treasury Department will be conditional on a guarantee from the president, who must inform Congress that these individuals and entities are not involved in Iran's missile programs or terrorist activities. Republicans who opposed the nuclear agreement last summer argue that lifting sanctions will increase Iran's financial resources for expanding terrorist activities. Reuters reminds that under the nuclear agreement between Iran and the U.S., which was also signed by five global powers, Iran must halt those nuclear activities that could have military applications, and in return, approximately $100 billion of its blocked assets will be released, and gradually some U.S. and EU sanctions will be lifted. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives has targeted over fifty individuals and entities referenced in the Treasury Department's list as an annex to the nuclear agreement with Iran. These individuals and entities are on the special Treasury Department list due to financial support for terrorism, human rights violations, or involvement in weapons development programs, their assets have been seized in the U.S., and U.S. citizens and companies are prohibited from trading with them. According to this bill, the U.S. government can only remove these individuals and entities from the sanctions list if it guarantees to Congress that they have not participated in the transfer of financial resources for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, foreign terrorist groups, or any other group or entity involved in Iran's weapons and missile programs. Ed Royce, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, stated that since the signing of the agreement last summer, the Iranian government has shown that it cannot be trusted. Iran has accelerated its missile programs and 'intensified the war and slaughter in Syria.' However, Eliot Engel, a Democratic member of this committee who opposes the bill, stated that Democratic representatives had no role in its drafting. Engel, who personally opposes the nuclear agreement with Iran, added, 'This bill has no chance of becoming law.'