The Trump administration has again certified that Iran is in compliance with the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an international agreement to curtail Iran’s development of nuclear weapons. This certification to Congress must occur every 90 days and followed confirmation by the international monitors and other signatories to the JCPOA that Iran is meeting the terms of the agreement. Reports are, however, that President Trump begrudgingly agreed to the certification after multiple meetings with his national security staff and is demanding that his staff develop a new strategy to confront Iran because he does not want to continue to indefinitely recertify Iran’s compliance.
In making the announcement, State Department officials noted that President Trump intends to impose new sanctions on Iran for ongoing “malign activities” in non-nuclear areas such as ballistic missile development and support for terrorism. “We do expect to be implementing new sanctions” related to missiles and Iran’s “fast boat program,” one State Department official indicated.