Aaron Arnold provides a crucial update on the status of the economic sanctions placed on Iran. He argues that in the short term, a lack of sanctions relief will continue to damage the Iranian economy and undercut efforts by the Rouhani Administration to revitalize growth. However, he points out that new developments in the global economy, such as the creation of an alternative to the SWIFT financial messaging system pushed by Russia and China, will possibly degrade the effectiveness of sanctions in the long run.

US officials sought to downplay concerns that the White House would use a UN Security Council Resolution to tie Congressional hands, Iran-controlled Shia militias retook much of Tikrit from ISIL, and more in this week’s Belfer Iran Brief, covering March 11-16, 2015.

Henry Rome analyzes the new Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, sponsored by Senator Bob Corker (R, Tenn.), and assesses how it will allow for Congressional review of a nuclear deal with Iran.

Henry Rome analyzes the new Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, sponsored by Senator Bob Corker (R, Tenn.), and assesses how it will allow for Congressional review of a nuclear deal with Iran.

Forty-seven Republican senators signed a letter indicating that any nuclear deal not approved by Congress could be revoked by the next president with the “stroke of a pen,” President Barack Obama accused senators of making “common cause with the hardliners in Iran,” and more in this week’s Belfer Iran Brief, covering March 4-10, 2015.

Senate Republicans released an open letter to Iran’s leadership on Monday explaining that any nuclear arrangement reached without the approval of Congress could be revoked by the next president “with the stroke of a pen.”

Shai Feldman, Director of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University and Member of the Board of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, writes in The National Interest that a careful assessment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech last week reveals that he made several concessions and avoided making unreasonable demands regarding Iran’s nuclear program. However, Feldman writes, “by insisting on delivering the speech at this unfortunate time, Netanyahu invited a debate focusing on his conduct rather than on the ascribed pitfalls of the deal with Iran.”

James Sebenius, the Gordon Donaldson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, writes in The National Interest that the U.S. should offer a stronger batch of carrots and sticks when negotiating with Tehran. These carrots and sticks would come in the form of legislation pre-negotiated between Congress and the White House that would, on the one hand, offer phased, permanent sanctions relief if Iran complies with agreement, or, on the other hand, trigger swift implementation of harsh sanctions if no agreement is reached. “On balance,” Sebenius writes, “this approach offers the prospect of a president with every incentive to hang tough with Iran as well as the ability to offer inducements to that country in return for a more satisfactory nuclear deal.”

David Sanger, Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and National Security Correspondent for The New York Times, outlines the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 12 concerns about Iran’s nuclear program, 11 of which remain unaddressed.

In an address to a joint meeting of Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried the nuclear deal under consideration with Iran as a danger to the survival of Israel, President Barack Obama assessed that “it’s probably still more likely than not that Iran doesn’t get to yes,” and more in this week’s Belfer Iran Brief, covering February 23 to March 3, 2015.