Alwaght- The US Senate vote to extend sanctions on Iran for 10 additional years only proves that Iranian scepticism over American reliability when it comes to agreements was in place.
While President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill into a law before his term ends, the extension cements Irans doubts over US commitment to the nuclear deal which was struck with the p5+1 group of nations.
The anti-Iran legislation is seen as a violation of that agreement on the part of the US; whereas the Islamic Republicunder the observation of the International Atomic Energy Agencyhas kept its end of the deal.
It is true that this move sustains claims of lack of credibility, but this has been foreseen. From the onset, Iran's Supreme Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei warned Iranian diplomats against the untrustworthiness of the Americans in the final stages of the nuclear talks.
In April 2015, Sayyid Khamenei said: I have told the officials to not trust the opposing side, to not be fooled by their smiles, to not trust their promises because when they have achieved their objectives they will laugh at you. After every round of talks they make public comments that they then tell us in private was meant to save face in their own country and to counter their opponents, but this is their own problem and has nothing to do with us.
Less than two years into the agreement and the mask is off.
In November, the leader said Tehran will retaliate if the extension is implemented. E. Michael Jones, a political analyst in the US state of Indiana, in an interview with the Tasnim News Agency, concurred with the view that, if carried out, the sanctions would be a breach of the deal.
Ayatollah Khamenei is right; renewing the sanctions is tantamount (to) reneging on the nuclear deal, he said.
The US administration says it does not see the extension as a breach but the grounds for this claim are unclear. Perhaps, this is what the leader was referring to when he said: Everything is in the details. While the agreement stipulates there must be sanctions relief in exchange for lowering uranium enrichment levels, there is the possibility that Washington is pulling unseen strings.
It is possible that the deceitful opposing side might try to restrain our nation in the details, Ayatollah Khamenei said before the deal was finalized.
However, even if there is no legal loophole in the agreement, the US can quickly find other excuses to tighten the sanctions against Iran. It may play the human rights card by alluding to misleading news. Aside from the Islamic Republics nuclear energy program, the US could also use the West Asian Country's missiles program as an excuse to hit it with more sanctions. Furthermore, accusing Iran of state-sponsored terrorism and by terrorism they mean resistance groups that fight against occupying forces like what Hezbollah is doing against the Israeli regime and terrorist groups in Syria, for instance is another likely scenario for reinstalling sanctions.
Just this year, the State Department released its annual on global terrorist activity, listing Iran as the top state sponsor. The report, meanwhile, turned a blind eye to Zionist terrorism in Palestine and Saudi sponsorship for the greatest terrorist threat ISIS.
While part of Iranians were hopeful that the nuclear deal with the p5+1 would help alleviate the economic and humanitarian woes that the sanctions had inflicted upon their nation, at the same time many others principally had little faith in the nuclear deal. The Senates vote has further pushed this side to believe that the agreement is a US sham, aimed at cheating Iran of its rights.
What had initially been dubbed a win-win situation is unravelling into a state of deception. For many, the mere mention of new sanctions is indicative of American debauchery. They believe there is a lesson to be learned from this turn of events.
If the US administration goes forward with the extension, there are people who will be disappointed. However, for those who never bought it in the first place it will just be a confirmation of what they have known all along.
Clearly, this move sends a worldwide message. It speaks volumes about the USs decisions and commitments. Deal or no deal, it seems, American politicians are always ready to slam Iran with sanctions, regardless of their promises.