The following are excerpts from a Congressional Research Service report on options that the Trump Administration may use to end or alter U.S. implementation of the Iran nuclear deal.
Kenneth Katzman Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
A key section of the nuclear deal bans Iran from undertaking certain nuclear weapons development activities and controlling certain equipment that could be used in such activities. But the most recent report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog “made at best a general statement” about its monitoring and verification of that section, according to two nuclear experts, David Albright and Ollie Heinonen. Albright, a physicist and former U.N. weapons inspector, is president and founder of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS).
The following is a September 6 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York.
On September 5, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley criticized the nuclear deal and argued that U.N. inspectors cannot know if Iran is cheating. Iranian leaders have vowed to not allow inspections of military sites. The regime has "hundreds of undeclared sites that have suspicious activity that [inspectors] haven't looked at,” she said at the American Enterprise Institute.
Iran’s human rights record did not significantly improve in first half of 2017, according to report by the U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Asma Jahangir. From January to June, Jahangir transmitted 21 communications to Iran’s government on behalf of 81 victims of alleged violations. “The Government responded to three of these communications, considerably reducing its rate of reply compared with the previous six months,” according to the report. The following are excerpts.
On August 15, the U.S. State Department issued an updated travel warning for Iran to “highlight the risk of arrest and detention for U.S.
Iran’s government continued to imprison, harass, intimidate, and discriminate against people based on religious beliefs in 2016, according to an annual report by the U.S. State Department. “In Iran, Baha’is, Christians, and other minorities are persecuted for their faith.
On August 9, 47 national security leaders issued a statement warning against U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, as long as Tehran is complying. They recommended a comprehensive policy to constrain the Islamic Republic and further U.S. interests. The group, organized by The Iran Project, included a former national security advisor, former ambassadors, former lawmakers and foreign policy experts. The full text and list of signers are below.
On August 8, President Hassan Rouhani submitted to Parliament the names of 17 men for ministerial posts in his new cabinet. Two key figures — Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was responsible for negotiating the nuclear deal, and Oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, who has upped oil production following the lifting of sanctions — retained their positions.
Iranian officials have reacted angrily to new U.S. sanctions, signed into law by President Donald Trump on August 2. The bill, which also deals with Russia and North Korea, directs the President to impose sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile or WMD programs, the sale or transfer to Iran of military equipment or related technical or financial assistance, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
