News / Foreign Policy

GOP senators to block Obama from lifting Iran sanctions

Monday, 28 December 2015 10:20 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 28 December 2015 11:29 PM ]

New Hampshire Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte (C)

Senate Republicans are moving to block US President Barack Obama from lifting sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear program.

A legislation, introduced by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), is aiming to force Obama to provide a wide-ranging report on a possible military dimension of Iran’s nuclear program before sanctions are lifted at the beginning of the new year, The Hill reported.

The Obama administration will be required, based on the legislation, to certify to the US Congress that there is no military-related activity in Iran’s nuclear program.

The legislation has so far been backed by 10 GOP senators, including 2016 presidential candidate Marco Rubio as the White House is preparing for removal of the sanctions to remain committed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

*Rubio speaks at a pancake breakfast at the Franklin VFW December 23, 2015 in Franklin, New Hampshire.*

The JCPOA, also backed by the UK, Russia, China, France, and Germany, followed the conclusion of Iran’s negotiations in Vienna on July 14.

Under the agreement, some restrictions are placed on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the removal of sanctions.

Tehran has remained committed to the measures required in the JCPOA, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

(From L to R) Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, US Secretary of State John Kerry and US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz pose for a group picture at the United Nations building in Vienna, Austria, on July 14, 2015.

The GOP has been making attempts to block efforts to reach a deal with Iran under pressure from Israel.

Earlier this month, Ayotte spearheaded a letter to the president, also signed by 34 other Republicans, calling sanctions removal a “mistake” in the wake of missile tests in Iran.

Tehran has always argued that missile tests are not part of the agreement with the global powers.

Despite Iran’s clarification, the Republican senators also accused the Islamic Republic of “developing ICBM capabilities for the sole purpose of enabling delivery of a nuclear weapon to the United States.”

Iran asserts that its nuclear energy program solely seeks peaceful purposes.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sought to obtain a nuclear bomb and will never do so based on a fatwa by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and its defense doctrine,” said Marzieh Afkham, Iran’s former Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, in September.

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