On Friday, October 13, 2017, President Trump announced that he will decertify the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal.

By way of explanation, as part of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, the administration must recertify to Congress every 90 days that Iran is complying with its obligations under the JCPOA. Absent this certification, Congress has the option to re-impose nuclear related sanctions. Therefore, although Friday’s announcement does not withdraw the United States from the Iran Deal, it does open the door for Congress to impose legislation that could potentially undermine the integrity of the deal.

Please keep in mind that the nuclear sanctions primarily impact non-U.S. persons and other countries. Therefore, even with the lifting of the nuclear sanctions in 2016, U.S. persons and U.S. companies continue to be broadly prohibited from engaging in transactions or dealings with Iran and the government of Iran unless such activities are exempt from regulation or authorized by OFAC.

Although the re-imposition of nuclear related sanctions may not appear to have direct legislative impact on what U.S. persons can do vis-à-vis Iran, it is unclear whether such additional sanctions could soon follow. What is clear, however, is that such an act could have grave consequences from a foreign affairs standpoint and will undoubtedly undermine U.S. national security and credibility. This is especially true since the administration has offered no evidence that Iran has violated the deal. Furthermore, a bipartisan group of national security leaders have verified the success of the program and have urged the United States to continue implementing the deal.

If you would like to help protect the Nuclear Deal and encourage Congress to uphold the agreement, please contact your representative today via the following link: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

If you have trouble finding your representative, please contact our office today.