GOP introduces largest package of Iran sanctions in Congress

The US-based Washington Free Beacon has described the bill as a largely symbolic move meant to handicap the Biden administration's diplomacy with Tehran.

The legislation, dubbed the Maximum Pressure Act, would formally codify the Trump administration's tough sanctions campaign on Iran and force the Biden administration to submit any revamped nuclear deal with Iran to Congress for review before it is approved. 

Tehran is engaged in talks with the remaining signatories to the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) namely China, Russia, and the three major European countries of Britain, Germany and France in a bid to revive the nuclear deal in the Austrian capital of Vienna. The United States is not present as Iran has refused to directly talk with Washington that still continuing illegal Trump-era sanctions against the Iranian nation. Despite early promises during his presidential campaign, US President Joe Biden has not returned his country to the deal so far. By doing so, the Biden administration is following in the Trump administration's footsteps and continues to stick to the illegal sanctions on Iran in violation of the nuclear deal. Washington has set illegitimate conditions for returning to the JCPOA which is strongly rejected by Iran.

After the US exit from the world powers' nuclear deal with Iran in May 2018 and imposing the unprecedented sanctions on the Iranian nation which was followed by the indifference of the European parties to the need for compensating Iran's losses as a result of the US violations of the international accord, Iran started reducing its JCPOA commitments in five steps and finally suspended voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol on February 22. Tehran recently started 60% enrichment after an "act of sabotage" done reportedly carried out by the Israeli regime on one of its nuclear sites in Natanz. The JCPOA Paragraph 36 allows Iran to diminish its abidance in the case of violations of the deal by other parties.

Iran has vowed that it will change course and will return immediately to its JCPOA commitments as soon as other parties, most notably the Europeans, abide by the provisions of the accord. 

KI