Congress Takes No Action Ahead Of Iran Nuclear Deal Deadline

The U.S. Congress is not expected to take action ahead of a Tuesday deadline to re-impose sanctions on Iran. President Trump’s decision in October not to recertify Iranian compliance with the nuclear deal signed between Tehran and world powers gave lawmakers sixty-days to slap additional sanctions on the Islamic Republic. However, despite a Republican push to establish new “triggers” to do just that, the House of Representatives is expected to punt the issue back to the American leader. According to reports, President Trump is upset by the lack of progress on Capitol Hill and likely will pull the U.S. out of the accord entirely when it next comes up for review on January 13. According to a law enacted by Congress in 2015, the president must certify every 90 days that Iran is honoring the deal and that it is in the U.S. national interest. In this respect, Trump had asked legislators to propose ways to modify what he called the agreement’s “serious flaws,” foremost the so-called “sunset clauses” that fully expire after fifteen years, as well as its failure to hold Iran accountable for its ballistic missile tests, which contravene existing UN Security Council resolutions. The other signatories to the deal—France, Britain, Germany, China and Russia—have all urged the White House to uphold the agreement, which they, in addition to United Nations atomic inspectors, claim the Islamic Republic is abiding by. They have likewise shown little appetite for renegotiating aspects of the accord amid fears that doing so could cause Tehran to push towards nuclear breakout.