NEW YORK // With Republicans now in full control of Congress for the first time in Barack Obama’s presidency, a final deal with Iran over its nuclear programme could be at risk.
There is a renewed threat of additional sanctions on Tehran and a risk that Congress might refuse to lift current sanctions if an accord is struck that politicians see as a bad deal or if the talks are extended beyond the November 24 deadline.
“What we ought to do, if we can’t get an acceptable agreement with the Iranians, is tighten the sanctions,” the leader of Senate Republicans, Mitch McConnell, said on Sunday. “In fact, we had a bill in the Senate to do that which the current majority leader wouldn’t allow a vote on. ... That’s the kind of thing a new Senate would be voting on.”
On Tuesday, Republicans seized the Senate in midterm elections, giving the party a majority in both chambers of Congress for the first time in eight years.
The current Democratic Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, blocked a bipartisan bill earlier this year that would have imposed even more stringent sanctions on Iran than are currently in effect.
Now under Republican control, the Senate is likely to revive the bill. Even if it is vetoed by the US president, the newly emboldened Congress could signal to Iran that Mr Obama cannot uphold the US side of any agreement.
“The main concern is that with a Republican Senate the Iranians will worry about the ability of the US government to implement the long-term deal in terms of ultimately lifting sanctions,” said Barbara Slavin, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington who closely follows the negotiations.
If a deal is reached, Mr Obama will likely bypass Congress on a vote to lift the sanctions by using executive power to temporarily suspend a majority of the crippling sanctions. The sanctions currently prohibit foreign companies from doing business with Iran and deny access to the global financial system.
Administration officials have said that a permanent lifting of sanctions requiring congressional authority would only be necessary after the IAEA is able to verify that Tehran is abiding by the terms of a deal over an extended period of time.
The rationale officials have given is that the threat of reimposing the current sanctions would maintain leverage on Iran to honour the accord.
But a Republican-majority Senate is likely to see such a move by the Obama administration as intended to sideline Congress and may demand a vote on the temporary suspension of sanctions, or even propose new sanctions.
“The question is to what extent Congress will try to screw up the implementation of a nuclear deal if there is one,” Ms Slavin said.
Members of Congress from both parties have said they fear the White House is seeking a bad deal with Iran, one that would allow it to enrich uranium and remain on the threshold of being able to build a nuclear bomb. They see even stronger sanctions as the best way to constrain Iran.
The Republican senator Mark Kirk, who co-authored the recent sanctions legislation that was blocked, said last month that “Congress will not permit the president to unilaterally unravel Iran sanctions”.
But some analysts say they expect Republicans in the Senate, once they are no longer in the opposition, to act more cautiously.
“When they’re in charge maybe some realise this is serious business and they would look more carefully at it,” said George Perkovich, an expert on nuclear strategy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “They wouldn’t necessarily support a deal, but you can protest without sabotaging.”
Mr Obama would be able to veto any new sanctions. The Republican majority is also slim, making a vote to override Mr Obama’s veto unlikely, Mr Perkovich said. Many Democrats, however, have criticised the White House’s handling of negotiations and could potentially vote with Republicans.
He said Republican congressional staffers have told him that they do not expect any new sanctions authorised by Congress to be implemented because of the veto power, suggesting the outcome would likely be a protracted political battle for Mr Obama, not the scuttling of a final deal.
“They’re doing politics,” Mr Perkovich added.
When the Senate was on the cusp of voting on the new sanctions bill, Mr Obama reportedly told Senate Democrats that if the negotiations failed, Iran would likely resume accelerated nuclear activity and force him to ask Congress to approve military action, said Mr Perkovich.
The new Senate would likely face the same choice, but at a time of widespread conflict in the Middle East it is unclear if they would welcome that responsibility.
“It will be hard to argue that now is the time to throw kerosene on a simmering flame,” Mr Perkovich said.
“A new Senate majority will have to be very careful.”
tkhan@thenational.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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HOW TO WATCH
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The%20specs
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
