Iranian lawmakers urge countermeasures against JCPOA violations

A majority of Iranian lawmakers have urged the administration of President Hassan Rouhani to take appropriate measures to respond to any violations of a multilateral nuclear deal by the United States.

In a statement read out at the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) on Tuesday, over 220 lawmakers pointed to two separate votes at the United States House of Representatives in favor of anti-Iran bills and said they will be closely monitoring the House of Representatives and members of the US Congress in general for any potential move that would result in the violation of the deal, which is known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

They called on President Rouhani’s administration to take “reciprocal and serious” action based on “The Islamic Republic of Iran Government’s Proportionate and Reciprocal Action Law,” a legislation that was ratified in October 2015 to mandate government action against potential violations of the deal.

Last Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill for a 10-year re-authorization of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), a law that was initially adopted in 1996 on the unfounded grounds that Iran was pursuing a non-civilian nuclear program and that authorizes potential sanctions against US entities doing business with Iran.

A day later, the House voted to bar the sale of commercial airplanes to the Islamic Republic.

Both measures will have to be approved by the Senate and then the US president to turn into law. Outgoing President Barack Obama has threatened a veto against the bill on commercial airplanes, whose sales to Iran have been guaranteed under the JCPOA.

President Obama has also criticized the re-authorization of the ISA but has not threatened a veto.

There is a potential that neither of the bills will be in time for him to consider as the presidency will be handed over to an incoming president — Donald Trump — on January 20 next year.

Trump is a business tycoon who ran on a platform of opposing the Obama administration. On the campaign trail, he threatened he would “tear up” the JCPOA. But it remains unclear what specifically he would do regarding the deal once he takes office. He has occasionally contradicted his general rhetoric against the agreement.

The US is one of the seven sides to the international deal. Iran also negotiated the agreement with France, the UK, Germany, China, and Russia, all of whom have remained committed to the JCPOA.

The deal was reached in July 2015 and began being implemented in January this year.

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