By SEMA YAZICI
The crisis related to Iran's nuclear program has been on the global agenda since its implementation. Iranian Nuclear Deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action(JCPOA), signed in 2015 with the permanent members of the UN Security Council called P5+1 ( United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, France, and Germany). This Agreement aimed to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and therefore, it included the abolition of Western countries economic sanctions against Iran. (Ozkan, 2018)
After August 30, 2012, the IAEA report suggested that Iran developed uranium and developed nuclear weapons. (Collina, Kimball, 2014) .Israel President Netanyahu also claimed that Iran was very close to the capacity to produce nuclear weapons. However, Iran denied the claims and indicated that the nuclear program was completely peaceful. On July 1, 2012, the United States and Western countries applied economic sanctions against Iran to constant Iran’s nuclear program. These sanctions included Iran’s largest source of revenue; oil exports, and also put embargoes on companies and banks that are trading with Iran. The Iranian government influenced by these sanctions but it was not the country that called for an agreement. The United States first start an agreement with Iran, then, the Iranian Nuclear Deal was implemented in 2016 with the participation of other countries.
The agreement was signed under US President Barack Obama. Under Obama’s rule, the US pursued more peaceful policies against Iran. Obama, in one of the famous speeches, indicated that aimed to create a world without any nuclear weapons. ( Tannenwald, 2018) Another reason was the US wanted to stop Iran is a threat to his ally, Israel. Obama wants to create a disarmament world. The Obama administration’s policies towards Iran was a major development in US-Iranian relations since 1979. (Jane, 2017) Iran and the P5 + 1 countries have made many negotiations. The negotiations began in 2013, but they are between Iran and the US. After all, Iran and P5+1 countries signed a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action(JCPA) in July 2015, implemented in 2016.
The Nuclear Deal contained the abolition of sanctions for Iran and slowed down the Iranian Nuclear Program. The United States and Western countries lifted some of the sanctions against Iran. With the abolition of sanctions, Iran has experienced a significant increase in its oil exports and had the opportunity to open its oil and petroleum to international markets and has a significant development in its oil exports.
In May 2018, US President Trump decided to withdraw from this Nuclear Deal. Trump had expressed himself on several occasions that he did not want the United States to remain in the Treaty in this form. One reason behind this is that Trump wants to dismantle Obama’s policies. The Iranian Nuclear Deal was seen as one of Obama’s greatest successes. Trump’s main aim was to change the regime. The other reason was Israel threats. Trump, wants to remain its power on Israel by restricting Iranian weapons. In addition, multilateralism creates distrust among countries. US’s understanding was the less agreement is the better. Thus, the US decided to leave the Iran Nuclear Deal suddenly. ( Zurcher, 2018) Following the withdrawal of the United States, economic sanctions against Tehran began to reapply on 5 November 2018.
In the framework of the first stage sanctions that the United States started to replicate to Iran on August 7, 2018, the Iranian government was banned from buying US dollars and trading with gold and precious metals. Iran's steel, coal, aluminum trade, and the automotive sector was sanctioned. Restrictions were also imposed on important transactions to take place outside the country. The export of handmade carpets and food products made by Iran was banned. The ban on donations and purchases of Iran's foreign debt was imposed under the sanctions. in the same way, the US imposed sanctions on Iranian oil companies, ports, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors. In addition to this, international restrictions on the purchase of petroleum and petroleum products were introduced from Iran. The US has not only limited oil trade, which is the country's largest source of income but also limited Iran's trade in automotive spare parts. (Duran, 2019)
However, the crisis has not only remained a problem between the US and Iran, but it has become a real global issue involving many actors. European leaders have adopted the view that the US under the Trump administration has pursued a foreign policy that is unpredictable and ignores the interest of Europe. US President Trump’s withdrawal from a nuclear deal with Iran and pushing the button for sanctions has left France, Germany, and Britain in a difficult challenge among other parties. While Russia and China wanted the continuation of the agreement, the European countries remained in between the US and Iran because they have their own interests in Iran and do not want to go into a dispute with America. After the United States stressed that the companies that will work with Iran will be punished, European companies tried to find new solutions. The EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) sought to find a way to maintain trade relations with Tehran without interfering with US sanctions against Iran. The European Union, China, and Russia have united their forces to overcome the new sanctions regime of the US, which was unilaterally withdrawn from the nuclear deal with Iran and put into effect to bring down Iran's economy.
EU countries announced that they established a new financial mechanism called “Special Purpose Vehicle(SPV)”. With this mechanism, it is aimed that companies can make all kinds of trade with Iran, primarily crude oil, without being subject to the US dollar and the global financial system pioneered by the USA. Germany, France, and the United Kingdom officially established the "European payment system" to facilitate trade with Iran following the sanctions of the United States. The name of the European payment system was announced as INDEX(Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges). (Alan, 2019). According to preliminary information, the payments to be made under INSTEX in the short term only include the transfer of money arising from the trade of food, medicine, and medical goods; however, it is said that this can be extended in the long term. With this payment system, the EU will be able to trade directly with Iran without using US Dollars. Therefore, when Iran saw the support of European countries, it challenges the United States, and thus, the conflict between them will not stop.
To conclude, US foreign policy towards Iran has changed since Donald Trump came to power. Looking at the recent US foreign policy moves, Trump’s decision to withdraw from the treaty is a serious departure from the European Union(EU), which has been allied with the history of the US. Perhaps, it may lead to the conflict between them. At the same time, If sanctions continue, Iran may take a more aggressive attitude. If Iran is more aggressive, it could pose a threat to every country, because even now, the biggest threat in the world is nuclear weapons.
References:
Alan, Gülsüm ( 2019, February 1). “AB’nin İran ile ticaret yapmak için kurduğu INSTEX mekanizması nedir?”. Euronews. Retrieved from: https://tr.euronews.com/2019/01/31/ab-iran-ile-ticaret-yapmak-icin-kurdugu-instex-mekanizmasi-nedir-saglayacagi-kolayliklar
Collina, Tom and Darly G. Kimball.(2018) "Reports of Note." Arms Control Today. Retrieved from: https://www.armscontrol.org/files/ACT_June2014_Digital_Issue_Final.pdfDuran, Burhanettin (2019). “Yeniden İran Yaptırımları”. Sabah Gazetesi. Retrieved from: https://www.sabah.com.tr/yazarlar/duran/2019/04/23/yeniden-iran-yaptirimlariİran’ın Batı ile nükleer ‘serüveni’.(2015, April 3). Sputnik News. Retrieved from: https://tr.sputniknews.com/ortadogu/201504031014797570/
Jane, Murat. "İran’ın Nükleer Politikasının Gelişimi ve Uygulanan Ambargo ve Yaptırımların Dış Politikasına Etkilerinin Analizi." Bölgesel Araştırmalar Dergisi 1.2 (2017): 274-285.
Ozkan, Ahmet Burak. “ ABD’nin Iran Nükleer anlaşmasından çekilme kararı “. Anodolu Agency. (2018). Retrieved from: https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/info/infografik/9961
Tannenwald, Nina. (2018) "The Vanishing Nuclear Taboo." Foreign Affairs.: 16-24
Zurcher, Anthony (2018, May 8). “Three reasons behind Trump ditching Iran deal”. BBC News. Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43902372
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