Iran: Nuclear Deal, New Sanctions?

After the Obama administration spent most of yesterday distancing itself from the just-announced Iran-Turkey-Brazil nuclear fuel swap deal — in which Iran would ship about half its stock of low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for more highly enriched uranium to be used exclusively for cancer treatment — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this morning U.S. officials reached an agreement with China, Russia, Great Britain, and France for a draft sanctions resolution that will be sent to the full 15-member UN Security council. “I think this announcement is as convincing an answer to the efforts undertaken by Tehran over the last few days as any we could provide,” Clinton said. “There are a number of unanswered questions regarding the announcement coming from Tehran” — an announcement that the White House and  State Department treated with skepticism and disapproval, and others view as an Iranian-led effort to possibly stave off a fresh round of economic sanctions.

Although the big five members of the Security Council appear to be on board with the current approach, Newsweek‘s Owen Matthews fears that the nuclear fuel deal may “drive a wedge” between the U.S. and other countries (read: China and Russia) who remain wary of a tough regime of sanctions. Indeed, coming out of the nuclear deal, Turkey’s Foreign Minister insisted that “There is no more ground for new sanctions and pressures,” and Matthews contends that the onus is once again on the U.S. to prove to its allies that the need still exists.

Yet displaying a high level of diplomatic aptitude is only half the battle according to Trita Parsi, who believes that “the Obama administration’s problem with domestic actors may be a greater challenge.” A reconciled “extraterritorial sanctions bill” may still emerge from Congress regardless of whether the nuclear fuel deal meets American security stands, Parsi says, which could upset the balance of ongoing negotiations.

Meanwhile, insideIran.org relays the mixed reaction emanating from within Iran’s opposition movement. Yet Iranian conservatives appear to be conflicted as well, and Arash Aramesh observers that “It seems that the nuclear issue has caused the widening of some old rifts and the creation of new ones while prompting some of the most ardent critics of the government to approve a controversial nuclear deal.”