Iran-U.S. relations in jeopardy: Iran cautions U.S. to think twice before walking out of nuclear deal

TEHRAN, Iran - Days after the Senate unanimously voted to extend the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) by ten years - Iran has continued to attack America, calling the extension of sanctions - America’s “unreliability.”

The ISA was passed a week back, by a vote of 99-0 after begin previously approved by a vote of 419-1 in the House of Representatives. 

Irked at the extension of the sanctions, senior Iranian officials have lashed out at U.S. over the last week, with the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani even saying, “If you extend the sanctions, this will mean kicking the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) away and we will confront it through implementing powerful technical packages.”

The JCPOA, the nuclear agreement was signed between Iran and six world powers - Russia, Britain, the U.S, China, France, and Germany - in July 2015. 

As part of the deal, Tehran agreed to curb certain aspects of its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related sanctions.

Now, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that it was in the interest of the United States to remain committed to a multilateral nuclear treaty.

Zarif, who was recently on an Asian tour said that the decision has shown the world that Washington cannot be relied upon to act on its commitments, adding, “To the world community, the extension of sanctions against Iran shows the unreliability of the American government. America is acting against its commitment. It's an agreement that came about after everything else failed. It came about when they found sanctions did not work. Before the sanctions we had 200 centrifuges. Afterwards we had 20,000. What did the U.S. gain?"

Zarif further questioned America’s “less than respectable” history in respecting international laws arguing that while the agreement was multilateral and endorsed by the UN Security Council - this did not mean it might not be violated by the United States.

He said, “I’m not basing our hope on an illusion that people will respect international law out of their goodwill or good natures. I believe it is in the interests of the United States as well as the rest of the international community to respect this multilateral agreement."

He added, “Sanctions against Iran had not worked in the past and would accomplish nothing if strengthened, especially since the other treaty partners would be unlikely to buy into them. Sanctions will harm us, but won't break us.”

U.S. meanwhile has argued that the renewal of ISA would not infringe the nuclear agreement in any way. 

U.S. lawmakers reportedly stated that the ISA extension would make it easier for sanctions to be quickly reimposed if Iran contravened the nuclear deal.

However, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Ali Akbar Salehi said the extension would be a “clear violation” if implemented.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani had earlier warned, “The [nuclear accord] is the result of efforts by seven countries, and one country should not be allowed to weaken it.”

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei too had vowed retaliation, warning the U.S. that in Tehran, the extension would be considered as a breach of the nuclear accord.

With the soon changing political environment in the U.S., as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to assume charge - the diplomatic relationship between Washington and Tehran is to face some serious problems. 

Reports recalled that Trump, during election campaigning had said that he would scrap the nuclear agreement. 

Further, Trump and his national security team have openly stated that Iran is the U.S.’ prime enemy.

Reports indicated earlier this week that Trump was considering non-nuclear sanctions on Iran. 

According to a report in The Financial Times - Trump’s transition team is mulling options for imposing sanctions on Iran, that would not technically breach the nuclear deal and would be unrelated to its nuclear weapons program.

The report stated that Trump’s team was engaged in discussions with Republican lawmakers about economic penalties that would not technically breach President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran.

The possible measures reportedly included targeting Iran’s ballistic missiles program or its human rights record.

‘Iran nuclear deal is vitally important’

In a historic speech in Bahrain, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May meanwhile said that the Iran nuclear deal is “vitally important.” 

This is May’s first major intervention on the issue since the election of Donald Trump in the United States.

Addressing the plenary of the Gulf Co-operation Council, May reportedly said that Iran remains a threat to the stability of the Middle East and the U.K. would not ignore “aggressive” Iranian actions in Syria and Yemen. 

She said that she is "clear-eyed" about the threat posed by Iran but underlined that a nuclear deal with the regime is "vital.”

She said, “As we address new threats to our security, so we must also continue to confront state actors whose influence fuels instability in the region. So I want to assure you that I am clear-eyed about the threat that Iran poses to the Gulf and the wider Middle East; and the U.K. is fully committed to our strategic partnership with the Gulf and working with you to counter that threat. We secured a deal which has neutralised the possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons for over a decade. It has already seen Iran remove 13,000 centrifuges together with associated infrastructure and eliminate its stock of 20 percent enriched uranium. That was vitally important for regional security. But we must also work together to push back against Iran’s aggressive regional actions, whether in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Syria or in the Gulf itself."

May’s statement, however, has put her on a collision course with Donald Trump.