With Congress expected to block any serious efforts to lift any sanctions against Iran, officials with the Obama Administration say that they are considering using billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets as the incentive tool during early parts of the negotiations.
Slowly unfreezing Iran’s overseas assets would be a “financial spigot” that the administration could open and close at will, to be used as leverage during the ongoing negotiations.
Iran’s proposals for a settlement on their nuclear program could take many months to finalize, and Congressional opposition to the talks means that it’s going to be next to impossible to lift sanctions, especially in the near term.
That means the Obama Administration’s negotiating position is all the weaker, since they can’t credibly make promises related to the sanctions without securing some sort of pledge from Congress, and that’s likely to be impossible so long as Israel is withholding its imprimatur on the talks, since much of Congress is presenting the anti-diplomacy position as “pro-Israel.”
The EU has already took action….
In a series of recent rulings, the European Court of Justice overturned economic sanctions issued by the Council of the European Union (EU) on several Iranian banks and shipping lines.
On September 6 and 16, 2013, the Court halted sanctions on Persia International Bank plc, Bank Refah Kargaran, Export Development Bank of Iran, Post Bank Iran, Iranian Offshore Engineering & Construction Co., Iran Insurance Company, Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), Khazar Shipping Lines, and Good Luck Shipping. The EU had sanctioned these entities for their support of nuclear proliferation activities in Iran, but the Court determined that the EU lacked sufficient evidence to introduce such sanctions. The cases are notable for their effect on global sanctions against Iran, although it seems unlikely that U.S. sanctions against Iran would be lifted on similar grounds.