It is unlikely that future US presidents will run the risk of scrapping the momentous international nuclear accord reached between Iran and world powers on July 14, a former nuclear negotiator comments.
Sirous Nasseri made the remark in an interview with the Donya-e-Eqtesad newspaper published on Sunday.
According to the expert, the nuclear deal, officially titled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is as important as disarmament treaties for Americans; as a result, revoking such an important agreement will involve a great political risk which explains why its cancelation sounds to be almost inconceivable.
Asked about the propaganda campaign by US Republicans against the JCPOA, Nasseri said, "Such psychological warfare is aimed at dissuading international companies from investing in Iran; nonetheless, I believe such measures will not last long and as soon as the campaign [for the 2016 US presidential election] reaches its peak, even Republicans will start to act as if they have also played a key role in helping clinch the deal."
"The historic deal has lots of proponents in Europe and even within the US system, so it looks unlikely that it fails to help the two sides accomplish their objectives," he asserted.
***Lingering Mistrust
On the prospect of Tehran-Washington relations in the post sanctions era, the expert reiterated, "Mistrust toward such a belligerent state [referring to the US] will not fade away easily; however, reaching a nuclear pact after marathon negotiations [in Vienna] will definitely have its impact on the relations sooner or later."
Highlighting the fact that Iran's national interests are enshrined in the JCPOA, Nasseri noted that the next step is the proper implementation, which fully depends on the two sides acting in "good faith".
"I feel optimistic about the US being committed to its obligations as [US President Barack] Obama has put large political capital into securing the finalization of the deal; needless to say he will monitor the implementation process as strictly as possible to protect his political prestige," the expert added, stating that in case the JCPOA holds and Iran makes sure the US is firmly committed to fulfilling its pledges, naturally there will be more space to exchange views on other sensitive issues.
On the timeline for the implementation of the nuclear pact, Nasseri said, "The process seems to have been accelerated because as soon as the United Nations Security Council endorsed the accord [on July 20], China and Russia accepted the decision immediately, yet with respect to the US, a presidential veto was expected to counter the possible rejection of the accord by the US Congress; however, the move by Democrats to block efforts to kill the deal paved the way for the US administration to approve it in a shorter period.
"It is predicted that the agreement will take effect in about five months, but in view of the current pace of completing the required measures, a 5-month timeframe seems likely to be squeezed into about two and a half months."
