US seeks to destabilize nuclear deal with renewal of ISA: Analyst

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says no move is authorized to undermine last year’s landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).  He made the remarks in reaction to the US Senate vote to extend the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) for 10 years. The ISA was first adopted in 1996 to punish investments in Iran over its nuclear program. Iran has vowed to take "appropriate measures" against the ISA extension, saying it violated the JCPOA terms.

Catherine Shakdam, director of Shafaqna Institute for Middle Eastern Studies, believes the United States is trying to destabilize the nuclear deal with the renewal of ISA, adding that Iran is “absolutely right” in reacting to this political and economic aggression.  

“So far I do not think that Washington has done anything to prove that it is actually serious when it comes to the implementation of this deal. Everything that Washington has done has actually denied even the very clauses that were negotiated, because it is trying to undermine the decisions, which were made,” the analyst told Press TV in an interview on Sunday.

She also asserted that the nuclear deal is not simply between Tehran and Washington, and yet the United States is attempting to regain political ground and say that only it can decide about how Iran can expand its economy.

However, she said, this is a violation of a country’s national sovereignty and no one can tolerate such a thing.

Shakdam further opined that Washington is trying to “blackmail” Iran because it understands very well that if the Islamic Republic returns to the international arena, it can reclaim its place both within the Middle East and in the world as a superpower.

She went on to say the Israel lobby in Washington fears than Iran will suddenly become a “political and diplomatic giant” that would bring stability back to the region.

“We very well understand that the US does not want to see stability in the Middle East because then its power, the fact that it has tried to promote military interventionism in the Middle East and across all other regions in the world will be redundant because then there would be no more terrorism, there would be no more justification for any US base anywhere in the world and that troubles Washington,” she said.

She also noted that the United States is trying to revert to some kind of “covert intervention” where it can hurt Iran or at least try to delegitimize its standing, adding that US plan is not going to work.

Shakdam further expressed hope that the voice of reason will reclaim ground in Washington and things will change under President-elect Donald Trump.

According to the analyst, the Americans are trying to cling on to power but they need to understand that if they do not move with the world, they are going to be left behind.  

“They [the Americans] really need to just catch up with the rest of the world and realize that they are not a grand superpower anymore, they do not dictate policies in other countries and they certainly do not have exceptionism when it comes to national sovereignty. Other countries have the same rights. They need to look upon world politics and understand that you have to cooperate with countries not dictate [their own will],” she stated.

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