nuclear-news

President Obama is warning Congress against steps that could scuttle a deal that he says is the best chance to peacefully stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. But a dubious Congress appears close to taking veto-proof action to approve new economic sanctions on Iran – a step the United States has specifically agreed not to take in the nuclear accord with Iran, and one which officials from countries that are party to the agreement say would likely doom diplomatic efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

A new round of rhetorical confrontation between the White House and Congress was set off by Sunday’s agreement between Iran and six world powers – the US, Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany – on an implementation plan for the interim nuclear accord reached in November.

The interim accord aims to give negotiators the breathing space of six to 12 months to reach a comprehensive agreement for verifiably ensuring Iran never builds a nuclear weapon. Beginning Jan. 20, under the implementation

The interim accord aims to give negotiators the breathing space of six to 12 months to reach a comprehensive agreement for verifiably ensuring Iran never builds a nuclear weapon. Beginning Jan. 20, under the implementation

agreement, Iran over six months will destroy its stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium – a level only a few technical steps away from bomb-grade uranium – and take other steps to roll back some of its nuclear progress.

In return, Iran will receive up to $7 billion in sanctions relief during the next six months, according to the White House – some $4.2 billion of that in unfrozen oil revenues…….

In a new report Monday, the Washington-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies says that “growth-hungry companies” from around the world, sensing the advent of a “more permissive sanctions environment,” have flocked to Iran just since the interim accord was reached at the end of November.

Foreign participation in Iranian trade fairs in the last quarter of last year – when the interim plan was being negotiated and then approved – jumped by 70 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, the FDD says.

Mark Dubowitz, FDD’s executive director, says the foundation’s analysis suggests the sanctions relief provided Iran in the interim accord will be worth a lot more than the $7 billion the administration claims.

The sanctions relief has prompted a shift from “despair to hope” on Iran’s economy both inside and outside the country, Mr. Dubowitz says. The concessions Iran won concerning its petrochemical and auto industries will have multiplying impact given the importance of those two sectors to Iran’s economy.http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2014/0113/Is-Congress-about-to-kill-Iran-nuclear-deal-against-Obama-s-wishes-video