U.S. Officials Consult on Iran Ahead of Announcement on Sanctions Suspension

Ahead of the U.S. government's announcement regarding the suspension of sanctions on Iran, two American senators and officials from Donald Trump's administration met at the White House on Thursday to reach an agreement on a plan that would intensify restrictions on Tehran while maintaining the Iran nuclear deal. Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and senior Democratic committee member Ben Cardin met with General H.R. McMaster, Trump's national security advisor, to discuss such a plan. Reuters reported this news citing officials from the White House and the U.S. Senate. According to this report, efforts to achieve such a plan have intensified following the protests in Iran over the past week. In October of this year, despite concerns from America's European allies, Donald Trump refrained from certifying Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal and is soon expected to express his opinion on the extension of the suspension of sanctions on Iran within the framework of the nuclear agreement. At the time of not certifying Iran's compliance with the JCPOA, Trump emphasized that this agreement has flaws that, if not resolved with the help of Congress and America's allies, he would withdraw from it. Reuters writes that since then, members of Congress have been working to reach a bipartisan agreement that would somehow consider Trump's views so that he does not take action to reinstate Iran's oil sanctions, which could mean withdrawing from the JCPOA. According to Reuters sources in the U.S. Senate and the White House, members of Congress are seeking measures that would end the government's obligation to report on Iran's compliance with the nuclear agreement every 90 days, including provisions that would allow for the reinstatement of sanctions without any timeline if Iran violates the thresholds set in the nuclear agreement. Based on this report, just before Thursday's meeting at the White House, Senator Corker expressed hope that they would achieve sufficient progress in this regard so that Trump would not take action to reinstate sanctions. Reuters quoted Senator Bob Corker as saying that the protests in Iran have heightened the importance of not allowing potential Washington actions to distract from the Iranian government. The UN Security Council is set to discuss the protests in Iran at the request of the U.S. on Friday, although reports indicate that the council could remove the issue from its agenda with nine votes in favor. Meanwhile, on Thursday, the U.S. added five more Iranian companies to its sanctions list due to their involvement in the development of Tehran's ballistic missile program. The U.S. Treasury Secretary's statement emphasized that the Iranian government has prioritized these companies over addressing the economic situation of its people. These sanctions block all potential assets of these five companies in the U.S. and prohibit American individuals and companies from trading with them.