US anti-Iran sanctions vote flagrant disregard for nuclear deal: Analyst

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says it is in the interest of the US to remain committed to last year’s landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries, pointing out that the agreement was “multilateral” and endorsed by the UN Security Council, but the US has a “less than respectable” history in abiding by international law. Zarif made the remarks after the US Senate voted unanimously last week to extend the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) for 10 years. The ISA, which includes penalties against Iran's banking sector as well as its energy and defense industries, needs to be signed by US President Barack Obama before turning into law.

Sara Flounders, the co-director of the International Action Center, believes Washington's determination to renew the ISA indicates a “flagrant disregard” even for concluded agreements.

“Foreign Minister Zarif is absolutely accurate that the US is actually so often in violation of international law, flouts international law and does not abide by any of the treaties or agreements that it makes and this is a 200-year history of the US, violation of literally hundreds and hundreds of treaties and agreements made with people around the world, made with the indigenous people within the US,” the analyst told Press TV in an interview on Friday.

She also said that sanctions on Iran have been “criminal” and “illegal” from the beginning, adding that looking for new ways to impose them certainly shows an “enormous arrogance” on the part of the US corporate power.

Flounders went on to say that sanctions are an “act of war” and a violation of international law, arguing that they have not succeeded in the past and they will not succeed moving forward.

The analyst further noted that remaining committed to the nuclear deal may be good for individual corporations within the US, but there is an enormous separation between what is good for the people and what is good for a few banks and corporations.

“There is a big stake in continuing war and always perceiving and targeting Iran as a threat. Of course Iran is not a threat, but perceiving that again and again means far more corporate dollars for the military, for the oil corporations, and for continuing US subsidy and that plays a more important role than legitimate trade arrangements would,” she stated.

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, France, Britain, China and Russia – plus Germany started to implement the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on January 16.

Under the deal, Iran undertook to put limitations on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related bans imposed against the country.

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