Tehran, Aug 18, IRNA - After 12 years of nuclear negotiations, Iran and major global powers reached an agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on July 14 to settle the controversy. No doubt, the implementation of the JCPOA requires a strong political will from both sides.
In an article by Mahmoud Jamsaaz on its Tuesday edition, the Tehran-based English newspaper Iran Daily wrote, it is no secrecy that the pro-Israel lobby in the US has been trying to persuade lawmakers at Congress to reject the landmark deal.
The White House has promised a veto. If sustained, a veto would allow the Obama administration to implement the agreement without congressional support.
To override a veto, Republicans would need two-thirds majorities in both the House and the Senate, meaning they would need 44 House Democrats and 13 Senate Democrats to go along.
If the deal is killed, then the US global reputation would be harmed and its relations with Europe and allies across the world would be undermined. Therefore, rejecting an agreement that has the backing of the UN Security Council would cost the US an arm and a leg.
In Iran, a group of lawmakers have warned that the Majlis is opposed to parts of the deal. Opposition to the deal from legislators and their debates with nuclear negotiators indicate that like the US where secretaries of the state, the treasury and energy discuss the deal with senators, also in Iran the deal has diehard opponents.
This sends the signal to the West that not everyone in Iran welcomes the deal and that the deal has been painfully achieved due to such fierce opposition. There are disagreements between Iranian officials over reviewing the deal at the parliament.
Some believe that the nuclear agreement should not be put to the vote at the legislature and a review and approval by the Supreme National Security Council is enough.
Senior negotiator Abbas Araqchi has said it would not be in the interest of the country to involve the parliament in reviewing and ratifying of the deal because this would make voluntary measures stipulated in the agreement mandatory for Iran.
Anyhow, should the nuclear accord gets the thumbs up from either the parliament or the high security council, it can be implemented afterwards. But in case US Congress votes against it, this would have grave political and economic consequences for the United States and could put the country at loggerheads with its European partners and other countries worldwide.
The rejection of the accord by US lawmakers might even harm the dollar as the worlds strongest currency thus bringing down its value as a result of a decline in global trade.