The key message in President Obama’s State of the Union speech earlier this week was that the President is willing to take action this year – with or without the support of a recalcitrant Congress. While the bulk of his discussion focused on executive action on economic issues, President Obama made it clear that this mindset also applies to Iran, an issue that has embroiled both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue in an ongoing fight over new sanctions and the direction of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
An Insurance of Failure in Iran
Senator Robert Menendez OpEd in the January 10, 2014 Washington Post (A Diplomatic Insurance Policy Against Iran) advocates a policy that will ensure failure. If S.1881 (the so-called Nuclear Weapons Free Iran Act) should pass over a promised presidential veto, it is highly likely to scuttle the negotiations between the P-Five plus one and Iran to curb Iran’s nuclear program.
Analysis of Faults in the Menendez-Kirk Iran Sanctions Bill (S. 1881)
Earlier today the P5+1 and Iran announced that after nearly two months of talks, they have reached agreement to begin implementing the first step nuclear deal (i.e. the Joint Plan of Action) later this January. You can read the President’s announcement on the implementation of the deal here. A detailed State Department background briefing with more details on the implementation plan is available here.
Senate sanctions dead for now
By all indications it looks like the Senate will be holding off on new Iran sanctions, at least for the time being. Whether this means the rest of 2013 or the first six months of 2014 has yet to be seen. One report seems to imply that Senate Democrats have decided to side with the President on the issue, and statements from many top Democrats in recent days would suggest that’s the case.
Jersey Shore Update
To refresh your memory, Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee have for the past two years attempted to force the Pentagon to spend money that it doesn’t have – to begin building a long-range missile defense site on the East Coast that it doesn’t want – to buttress US defenses against a long-range missile threat from Iran that doesn’t exist.
