Reuters: Senior Trump Advisors Urge Him to Extend Iran Sanctions Suspension

Reuters reports that some senior advisors to the U.S. President have urged him to "extend" the suspension of sanctions under the nuclear agreement with Iran. Donald Trump is expected to announce his decision on this matter on Friday. Two senior U.S. officials told Reuters on January 9 that Trump's top advisors have recommended he not reinstate the suspended sanctions; however, Trump has shown reluctance to extend the suspension. One official stated that if the U.S. President extends the suspensions, the government will implement new targeted sanctions against individuals and entities. Another official mentioned that Trump might extend the suspensions but emphasize that a final decision has not yet been made. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department announced that the President will reveal his decision regarding the nuclear deal with Iran on Friday. Trump must announce whether he intends to extend the sanctions suspension or not. According to current U.S. laws, the President must report to Congress every 90 days on Iran's compliance with the "JCPOA". The last time, on October 13, Trump refrained from confirming this. However, Congress has also not made a decision on this matter, and the 90-day deadline is approaching once again. Additionally, in the coming days, another deadline regarding the extension of sanctions suspension will arrive, which must be signed by the U.S. President. This extension occurs every 120 days. One of the officials involved in discussions with Reuters stated that if the suspensions are not signed by Trump, the U.S. would effectively be violating the nuclear agreement. On Wednesday, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, stated that the continuation of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the six world powers depends on the full compliance of the U.S. with this agreement. He is currently in Brussels to discuss this matter with the foreign ministers of Britain, France, and Germany, as well as the EU's chief foreign policy representative. Besides these three countries and the EU's chief foreign policy representative, Russia, China, and representatives of Barack Obama's administration were also parties in discussions with Tehran. The nuclear agreement was reached in July 2015. Obama and his administration, along with other parties in discussions with Iran, welcomed this agreement. Republicans and the Israeli government were among the opponents and critics of the agreement. Trump has consistently expressed his criticisms of this agreement, even referring to it as "the worst deal". On October 13, the U.S. President announced that his administration could not confirm Iran's compliance with the nuclear agreement with world powers and left the decision on this matter to the U.S. Congress. Trump believes that Iran's continued missile activities and the Islamic Republic's regional policies "are inconsistent with the spirit of the nuclear agreement". He has also expressed concerns regarding the "sunset clause" in the Iran nuclear agreement. The "sunset clause" pertains to the lifting of restrictions after the time period of the nuclear agreement with Iran, raising concerns that "Iran could achieve the capability to produce nuclear weapons even before the agreement ends". In this context, it is reported that the U.S. government and Congress are seeking to eliminate this "sunset clause" that leads to the dismantling of oversight and restrictions on Iran's nuclear program. Reuters states that some Republican lawmakers, such as Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton, are calling for the reinstatement of sanctions and the termination of the nuclear agreement. Israeli media, citing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, report that the possibility of Trump canceling the JCPOA on Friday is "a real possibility". On the other hand, Republican Senator Bob Corker told Reuters that based on what he has inferred from "common opinions" among government members and senior diplomatic officials, "they hope [Donald Trump] will extend the suspensions". Senator Corker added that these officials also hope the President will support the current cooperation between the government and Congress.