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US renewal of sanctions against Iran to backfire: Analyst

Monday, 28 November 2016 6:16 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 28 November 2016 6:19 PM ]

The House side of the US Capitol is shown October 11, 2016 in Washington DC. (Photo by AFP)

A top Iranian nuclear official has said Iran is ready to respond if the US violates the landmark nuclear agreement between Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), by renewing sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Jan Oberg, founder of transnational.org, believes renewing sanctions against Iran will backfire on the United States, adding that it will be one more example of why Washington’s influence on the world is becoming weaker.

“This [the nuclear deal] would have been a wonderful opportunity for all, for the whole world and for Iran to open up trade, cultural agreement, interaction, mutual education, etc. instead United States now keeps on bullying, keeps on being grumpy, keeps on cheating where as far as I understand from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Iran has done what it should according to the agreement since last year,” the analyst told Press TV.

He also opined that the United States is a “grumpy superpower” on its way down which is basically doing negative and destructive things.

Oberg further noted one very good thing that is coming out of the other actors of the nuclear deal is that they do not want it to be broken up.

He also stated violating the JCPOA will cause “huge damage” between the United States and the other signatories to the nuclear agreement, arguing that it will probably have “negative repercussions” within NATO too.

He went on to say there will be an increasing “fear, danger or skepticism” in Europe about how the United States can be trusted in the future.

According to the analyst, there will be very “unpleasant surprises” perhaps when US President-elect Donald Trump takes office, expressing hope that Iran will keep its calm because it is probably a more stable power in the Middle East than the United States is in the West.

The GOP-controlled US House of Representatives on November 15 passed a bill for a 10-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA). The ISA will expire at the end of 2016 if it is not renewed. The bill must be approved by the Senate before being signed by the US president into law.

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