News / Economic Divide

Iran nuclear deal: A deal proved elusive

Sunday, 26 June 2016 4:48 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 26 June 2016 4:48 PM ]

A handout picture provided by the office of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani shows him delivering a speech during a conference on the implementation of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). (AFP Photo)

The JCPOA, the joint comprehensive plan of action is the name given to Ian's nuclear deal with the world powers.

It was supposed to produce the comprehensive lifting of all UN Security Council sanctions, as well as multilateral and national sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program. Yet, it has failed to fully do so.

Iran's central bank governor Valiollah Seif made a trip to the U.S., and leveled his complaints against the US in the Council of Relations Forum. He told the Council that Iran still cannot access its frozen funds abroad and he doesn't think that their Western partners are 'honoring their obligations' three months after the implementation of the nuclear accord.

The US secretary Jacob Lew had a word of caution. He said that the US has to be very attentive in keeping their part of the bargain. But at the same forum, Jacob Lew's stance went against the spirit of the JCPOA. He stated that the United States will continue imposing sanctions on Iran for its sanctionable actions outside of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Banks in the EU were scared. One reason: fines that had been imposed on them in the past. When European banks did business with Iran in the past before the JCPOA, they were fined by US authorities. In the eyes of the US, they were evading sanctions.

EU businesses 'held hostage' by US over business with Iran? Yes, that was the case, and it was alarming. EU business owners announced that they were reluctant to make deals with Iran due to the threat of repercussions from US officials.

The banks were forced to pay the fines, and agreed to conditions where they promised not to engage in business activities with Iran for a number of years. If they did, they would face huge fines and even, in extreme cases, the loss of their US operating license.

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