U.S. President Barack Obama admitted in early December at the Saban Forum in Washington that the nuclear deal signed with Iran has only a 50 percent chance of success. Due to this very reason, he must understand (although he doesn't) the 26 senators, Republicans and Democrats alike, who presented a bill in recent days threatening new sanctions against Iran if it violates the conditions of the interim agreement signed in Geneva, or if a comprehensive deal is not be finalized within a year. Everyone agrees that only the sanctions led Iran to make concessions (relatively speaking). Congress is of the belief that pressure on Iran must continue to be applied. Does anyone really believe otherwise- The senators explained that their intent is not to torpedo the diplomatic channel, rather to flex their country's muscles to the Iranians, should the Iranians seek ways of circumventing their obligations (which would not come as a surprise). The administration in Washington, however, does not believe in muscles, and is threatening to veto the new sanctions. The administration, in essence, is seeking to neutralize Congress through its negotiations with Iran. On Syria, Obama sought Capitol Hill's intervention to prevent him from having to order a military strike. On the Iranian front, we are witnessing the exact opposite. This time, too, Obama is not being coherent: Does Congress have a role in U.S. foreign policy or not? First he believes it does, but then he doesn't. There are those explaining that the reason behind the administration's veto threat is Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's comments to Time magazine, whereby if the sanctions bill is passed on Capitol Hill the deal between his country and the Western powers would be "dead." Iran has understood it can dictate the pace and even the conditions. This was shown to be the case in Geneva and this does not appear to be changing any time soon. In such a reality, the Iranian foreign minister can go as far as to taunt the West and declare that his country is liable to violate the agreement and enrich uranium to a level of 20% within 24 hours if the West takes measures it finds disagreeable. Obama is going to Hawaii on vacation. We wish him a good time, on Iran's behalf as well.
