The White House notified the U.S. Congress Tuesday that Iran is complying with the 2015 nuclear accord negotiated by former President Barack Obama, and that sanctions relief would be extended to Iran in return for the curbing of its nuclear program.
Yet the U.S. Department of State maintained that an interagency review of the Iran deal was being conducted due to concerns regarding the Islamic Republic’s continued role as a state sponsor of terrorism.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson raised the concerns in a letter sent to Speaker of the House of Representatives Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) Tuesday, alerting Congress to an effort led by President Donald Trump to evaluate whether the continued lifting of sanctions on Iran would be in America’s national security interests. “Iran remains a leading state sponsor of terror, through many platforms and methods,” wrote Tillerson.
“President Donald J. Trump has directed a National Security Council-led interagency review of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that will evaluate whether suspension of sanctions related to Iran pursuant to the JCPOA (the nuclear deal’s formal name) is vital to the national security interests of the United States,” he wrote.
During his presidential campaign last year, Trump vowed to “dismantle” the nuclear deal and to “force the Iranians back to the bargaining table.” In February, the Trump administration warned Iran that it had been “put on notice” and imposed sanctions on several entities connected to the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile program. {eoa}
This article was originally published at JNS.org. Used with permission.
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