Iran Sets Up Working Group to See Whether CAATSA Breaches JCPOA

“A working group has been set up at Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) to see into this measure (CAATSA) and announce whether or not it constitutes a violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” Nobakht told reporters on Tuesday.

He that whatever decision the SNSC makes would be binding for the government.

On August 2, US President Donald Trump signed into law the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

Section 105 of CAATSA requires the US president to impose the sanctions applicable with respect to a foreign person pursuant to E.O. 13224 on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and foreign persons that are officials, agents, or affiliates of the IRGC. Such sanctions must be imposed beginning on the date that is 90 days after enactment of CAATSA, which is October 31, 2017.   

Earlier this month, Trump refused to certify the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, punting the issue to Congress with a threat to withdraw the US from the JCPOA if new sanctions are not imposed on the country.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) reached the 159-page nuclear agreement in July 2015 and implemented it in January 2016.

Since the historic deal was signed in Vienna, the IAEA has repeatedly confirmed the Islamic Republic’s compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA, but some other parties, especially the US, have failed to live up to their undertakings.