Obama Signs Executive Order for Iran Deal - Will It Work Better than His Syria Red Line?

President Obama signed an order yesterday telling his administration to begin issuing waivers to Iran nuclear sanctions. The waivers will only go into effect after Iran meets its obligations to limit its nuclear program. The executive order marks what is called "adoption day" for the agreement intended to roll back Iran's nuclear program. It is, according to administration officials, a calendar-driven formality. Obama directed Secretary of State John Kerry to issue the waivers and "take all appropriate additional measures to ensure the prompt and effective implementation of the US commitments." The Iran sanctions were originally authorized by Congress but implemented by executive order, so Obama can waive the executive orders because Senate Democrats filibustered a September resolution that would have blocked the agreement. ~~~~~ The agreement, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), will be implemented after the International Atomic Energy Agency certifies that Iran has reduced its stockpiles of enriched uranium, dismantled 2/3 of its centrifuges, and halted construction of new nuclear facilities. Western officials say this will take six months. ~~~~~ The JCPOA - signed by the US, the UK, France, Russia, China, Germany and Iran - requires Obama and the European Union to order the issuance of waivers on adoption day so businesses will know what sanctions are being waived, a senior State Department official said. Most of the sanctions being lifted apply only to non-US citizens and companies doing business with Iran. Separate sanctions imposed on Iran because of its support of terrorism and its human rights violations will still apply to US citizens. But sales of civilian passenger aircraft and handicrafts, mostly carpets, will be allowed. The US Treasury Department is also expected to issue some waivers for non-US businesses that want to do business in Iran, mainly banking, oil purchases, and investments in certain economic sectors, officials said. ~~~~~ Iran’s parliament voted last Tuesday to support the JCPOA, despite hard-line attempts to derail it, indicating the accord will be carried out. The Iran bill will now be reviewed by Iran’s 12-member Guardian Council - senior clerics who could return it to lawmakers for more discussion. However, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who has the final say on key policies, has said Parliament should decide. ~~~~~ The Iranian bill gives responsibility for implementation to Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, headed by President Rouhani. It allows Iran to withdraw from the JCPOA if world powers don't lift sanctions, impose new sanctions or restore previous ones. The bill says : “The government is obligated to stop its voluntary cooperation if the other side fails to remain committed." It also requires the Iranian government to work toward the nuclear disarmament of Israel, which is widely believed to have the region’s only, if undeclared, nuclear arsenal. The bill also says the government should take “necessary measures” to prevent the US and the West from penetrating Iran through the JCPOA, something Khamenei has mentioned. ~~~~~ Dear readers, adoption day comes amid heightened tensions with Iran over its Syrian civil war involvement and test launch on October 10 of a ballistic missile reportedly capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. But, Obama maintained Friday that those issues are separate from the more urgent need to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon : "This is something that I made very clear during the debate around the Iran nuclear deal: [It] solves a specific problem, which is making sure that they don't possess a nuclear weapon....we are going to have to...indicate to them that there are costs to bad behavior in the region and around the world." It seems clear the Iran nuclear deal is here to stay. But, if Obama, the UN and the EU do as well with Iran as they are now doing with Russia in Syria, we can expect Iran to soon brandish nuclear weapons that threaten an even more unstable Middle East and world.