The “Clock Is Ticking” On JCPOA Sunset Provisions

(New York, N.Y.) – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has alerted U.S. allies that the “clock is ticking” for the expiration of the UN arms embargo on Iran, as well as the deadline for other imposed sanctions on the regime. UN resolution 2231 outlined a deadline for sanctions on Iran to end by October 18, 2020. Under provisions in 2231, UN member states are asked to be observant of dealings with Iran and cautious of military, weapons and financial agreements with the regime. Already, President Hassan Rouhani has promised that once the embargo is lifted, the country would “be able to buy and sell weapons.”

The imposed sanctions on Iran are scheduled to be lifted upon a final review by the International Atomic Energy Agency if they verify compliance by Iran with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Secretary Pompeo and the United States administration have repeatedly voiced concern and opposition to sanctions on Iran being lifted in the year 2020. Pompeo also called on American allies that remain committed to the agreement to escalate pressure on the Iranian regime to curb its malign behaviors.

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) Chairman Senator Joseph I. Lieberman has previously touched on the pitfalls of the sunset provisions on Iran’s military and financial affairs. Senator Lieberman highlighted that the short-sighted sunset provisions are key reasons as to why the JCPOA is a flawed deal, and justifies President Trump’s marquee decision to withdraw the United States from the agreement in May 2018. UANI CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace has also pointed to Iran’s abilities to smuggle and openly supply Hezbollah, the Houthis and other terrorist proxy groups with precision-guided missiles and drones following the expiration of restrictions on arms transfers.

In its report, JCPOA Sunset Alert, UANI details the hazards once the arms transfer provisions of UNSC Resolution 2231 expire. Guns, howitzers, mortars, battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships and missiles or missile systems can proliferate throughout the region, creating destabilizing consequences for Yemen, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Israel. Terror organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad the Houthis and the Al-Ashtar Brigades are the likely beneficiaries of this sunset provision.

To read the UANI report, JCPOA Sunset Alert, please click here.