The US, Iran and the Middle East

U.S. renews waiver for Iraq to import Iranian energy for 60 days

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Thursday it had renewed a waiver for Iraq to import Iranian electricity, this time for 60 days to enable Baghdad to take “meaningful actions” to reduce its energy dependence on neighbouring Tehran.

The waiver will continue to exempt Iraq from U.S. sanctions reimposed on Iran, hobbling its oil-dependent economy, after President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from world powers’ 2015 nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic.

Washington has repeatedly extended the waiver for Baghdad to use crucial Iranian energy supplies for its struggling power grid, usually for periods of 90 or 120 days...

The US “Snapback” Against Iran – Bad Politics and Flawed Law

In summary, the “maximum pressure” campaign by the United States against Iran, in political terms: aims to kill the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in a manner designed to help win a presidential election; increases potential for Iranian and US aggressive actions; threatens the viability of UN Security Council resolutions and undermines its role; doubles down on a blatant US treaty violation to seek greater advantage; threatens peace and security in the Middle East; jeopardizes US relations with European and other allies, Russia and China; unhinges the approach of “snapback” as a form of treaty-based guarantee to insure its observance (Iran should have gotten US reciprocity in the JCPOA); defeats the possibility of broader acceptance of an extension of the conventional arms embargo on Iran through negotiation; increases Iran’s capacity to produce a nuclear weapon; and isolates the United States, not Iran.

The United States took this policy approach by assuming a flawed, unlawful position: by explicitly terminating its participation in the JCPOA, the United States is no longer a participant in the JCPOA, a reality that both the other members of the UN Security Council and all the other participants in the JCPOA have now confirmed; because the JCPOA and UNSCR 2231 are interconnected documents, even if the United States were still considered to be a “JCPOA participant,” the United States has failed to satisfy the procedural requirements necessary to invoke the snapback mechanism; international law estops the United States from invoking the Snapback provision after it unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA; and the principles of “good faith” and “unclean hands” bar the United States from invoking the snapback under UN Security Council Resolution 2231 as it was the U.S. nonperformance of its JCPOA commitments that triggered any subsequent Iranian nonperformance.

Pompeo Threatens to Close U.S. Embassy in Iraq Unless Militias Halt Attacks

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has threatened to close the American Embassy in Baghdad within weeks if Iraqi leaders fail to prevent Iranian-backed militias from firing rockets at the compound, three U.S. officials said...

In one of the calls, Mr. Pompeo said American troops would “kill every Kata’ib Hezbollah” member as American diplomats depart Baghdad, according to one U.S. official. The Iranian-backed militia is one of several that have attacked U.S. forces and diplomatic posts in Iraq, going back to before the Obama administration declared an end to the Iraq war in 2011 and withdrew 50,000 troops. U.S. forces returned after the Islamic State seized parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014...

In Iraq, American officials are most concerned over Kata’ib Hezbollah and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, which the State Department designated as a terrorist organization in January. The agency made the same designation of Kata’ib Hezbollah in 2009.

However, Iranian-backed militias are a powerful political force in Iraq: They were critical in supporting the Shiite-led government against the Islamic State, a Sunni group, and have been placed in the government’s security structure under an umbrella organization, the Popular Mobilization Forces. They also have seats in the parliament...

Kuwait's new emir meets senior U.S. and Iranian officials

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait’s new Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah on Sunday met senior U.S., Iranian and Gulf officials who separately paid respects over the death of the Gulf Arab state’s former ruler.

Sheikh Nawaf also received Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who had lauded the late emir for fostering “moderation and balance”, state media said

Sheikh Nawaf, 83, is expected to uphold the OPEC member state’s oil and foreign policy, which promoted regional detente...

Trump administration to impose crushing sanctions on Iran in defiance of European humanitarian concerns

The Trump administration has decided to impose new sanctions on Iran’s financial sector in defiance of European allies who warned that the move could have devastating humanitarian consequences on a country reeling from the novel coronavirus and an ongoing currency crisis, three officials familiar with the decision said Wednesday.

The measures will target the few remaining banks not currently subject to secondary sanctions in a move European governments say is likely to diminish channels Iran uses to import humanitarian goods, such as food and medicine, officials said.

Defenders of the plan, which is expected to be announced on Thursday, say further isolating Iranian commerce fits with the Trump administration’s efforts to crush the Iranian economy to bring Tehran to the negotiating table — a strategy that has not panned out yet. They also say the Treasury Department can mitigate the humanitarian consequences by issuing letters to companies permitting certain sales...