Response to the Extension of Sanctions Law; Joint Committee on JCPOA Holds Meeting

Simultaneously with the publication of a letter from Gholamali Khoshroo, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, to the Secretary-General of the UN, in which he deemed the recent US Congress decision to extend sanctions against Iran as contrary to the JCPOA, Iranian news agencies reported on the holding of a meeting of the Joint Committee on the JCPOA at the headquarters of the Supreme National Security Council. However, the US insists that the extension of the sanctions law against Iran is not contrary to the JCPOA and that these sanctions have been in place since 1996. On Wednesday, December 7, ISNA reported that the meeting of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the JCPOA, chaired by Hassan Rouhani, the head of the Supreme National Security Council, was held in response to the extension of the sanctions law against Iran. On the other hand, Gholamali Khoshroo emphasized in his letter to Ban Ki-moon that 'according to the provisions of the JCPOA, the US, as one of the parties to the JCPOA, is committed to refraining from extending and reimposing sanctions or any action contrary to the goals, text, and spirit of the JCPOA.' According to the Iranian ambassador to the UN, 'the extension of the Iran sanctions law is contrary to US commitments under the JCPOA, and therefore this country will be responsible for the negative consequences and harmful effects of such an action.' In this letter, Gholamali Khoshroo requested that the UN Secretary-General 'ask all parties to the JCPOA, especially the US, to adhere to their commitments regarding this agreement.' The Iranian representative at the UN also asked the Secretary-General to 'reflect this action by the US and other instances of this country's breach of commitments under the JCPOA in his upcoming report to the Security Council.' According to ISNA, the Wednesday meeting of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the JCPOA aimed to review the developments in the implementation of the JCPOA, especially the issue of the approval of the bill to extend sanctions against Iran by the US Senate and to examine possible Iranian responses if this law is enacted. In this meeting, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, will also present a report on his trip to East Asian countries, especially China, to the committee members. The members of this committee, chaired by Hassan Rouhani, include Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Dehghan, the Minister of Defense, Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Saeed Jalili, the representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Supreme National Security Council, and Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, is also the secretary of this committee and is responsible for informing and providing relevant reports with him and the oversight committee. Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, emphasized last Sunday in the Islamic Consultative Assembly: 'As President and head of the Supreme National Security Council, I declare that we will not tolerate a breach of the JCPOA and will respond appropriately.' The Senate and the House of Representatives recently voted to extend the Iran sanctions law for another 10 years. This bill has been in place since 1996 and is voted on for renewal in Congress every ten years. Despite the approval to extend the Iran sanctions law until 2026, Eric Schultz, a spokesperson for the US State Department, stated that 'it is expected that Barack Obama will sign the bill to extend the Iran sanctions law for 10 years, but this legislation gives the Secretary of State the authority to remove nuclear sanctions from this package as long as Iran adheres to its commitments under the nuclear agreement (JCPOA).' Additionally, John Kirby, another spokesperson for the US State Department, reiterated the White House's position regarding the Secretary of State's authority to remove nuclear sections of the Iran sanctions law, noting that in his view, the extension of this law would not limit the US's ability to fulfill its commitments under the JCPOA. Previously, Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, had stated in the early days of December that the US House of Representatives' action to extend the Iran sanctions law was a violation of the nuclear agreement and warned of Tehran's response. On the other hand, Donald Trump, the elected President of the United States, during his election campaign, stated that 'if he wins the election, he will tear up the nuclear agreement.'