As Iran, P5+1 work to implement Geneva deal, US vows to tighten sanctions on Tehran.

As Iran, P5+1 work to implement Geneva deal, US vows to tighten sanctions on Tehran. (Jpost).
WASHINGTON - The United States is further tightening the screws on its sanctions regime against Iran, the US departments of State and Treasury announced on Thursday, citing "Iran's efforts to use deceptive practices and front companies to further its nuclear program" just as its government negotiates with world powers for a peaceful settlement to the longstanding crisis.
Action from the Obama administration comes just as a key group of bipartisan senators prepared finishing touches on a new sanctions bill against Iran that would go into effect should six months pass without a final-status agreement. On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned such a bill would nullify the interim deal forged last month in Geneva.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Robert Menendez, ranking member Bob Corker and Mark Kirk, among others, fear that the interim deal reached last month between Iran and the P5+1— the US, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany— will crystalize into a new status quo.
The agreement freezes, but does not dismantle, Iran's nuclear program, in exchange for modest sanctions relief.
"It’s still in the oven," said one Senate aide familiar with the bill, adding that the timing and strategy for a vote remain uncertain. "It's possible it could happen fast, [and] possible it may take a bit of time."
The new enforcement measures announced Thursday include over a dozen designations of companies located across the world, including Singapore, Cyprus, and Iran itself.
Any assets between the companies listed and Iran that have come under US jurisdiction have been frozen.
A series of companies listed violate an executive order signed by US President Barack Obama that targets individuals, firms, and financial institutions involved in or linked to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Another group of firms evades existing sanctions, primarily the shipment of crude oil, including Vitaly Sokolenko, Ferland Company Limited, Siqiriya Maritime, Singa Tankers and Mid Oil Asia.
“The Joint Plan of Action reached in Geneva does not, and will not, interfere with our continued efforts to expose and disrupt those supporting Iran’s nuclear program or seeking to evade our sanctions," said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen.
Cohen listed the existing executive orders that have been violated as E.O. 13645 and E.O. 13382, and noted that the companies in violation have been added to a list of sanctions evaders consistent with practice under existing laws.
“Today’s actions should be a stark reminder to businesses, banks and brokers everywhere that we will continue relentlessly to enforce our sanctions," Cohen added, "even as we explore the possibility of a long-term, comprehensive resolution of our concerns with Iran’s nuclear program.”
"Sanctions pressure will be essential as we seek a comprehensive, long-term solution," one senior administration official said in reaction to the new enforcement measures.
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday briefed the Senate on the Iran deal and on their enforcement strategy, pressing his former colleagues to hold off on any and all new sanctions legislation. Zarif said such a move from Congress would render the interim agreement "entirely dead."
In the Join Plan of Action signed in Geneva in November, one provision of the deal outlines consent by the White House— on behalf of the entire US government— that "the US administration, acting consistent with the respective roles of the President and the Congress, will refrain from imposing new nuclear-related sanctions."
"There's a very clear distinction" between new sanctions legislation and stricter enforcement of existing sanctions, and the Iranians understand that, the senior administration official said.
Key senators are still negotiating over the new bill, which aims to bring Iranian crude exports down by at least half its current figure of roughly one million barrels per day. Senate leaders vow to respect the six-month time-frame built into the Geneva deal.
Sanctions since 2011 have already cut Iranian oil exports by 60 percent.
A source close to the negotiations told the Post that, with forceful pushback from the White House against any new legislation, the situation over a vote remains "fluid situation" as Congress prepares to recess for the holidays.
Senate Banking Committee chairman Tim Johnson has crafted a similar sanctions bill that would move through his committee "quickly," his office says, should Iran fail to comply with the interim deal or should negotiations flounder.
Responding to his colleagues, including Menendez, Kirk, and Corker as well as Chuck Schumer and John McCain, Johnson said that passing a bill now would be a "counterproductive" move that might "shatter Western unity on this issue."
The official said that claims in media outlets made by Israeli security officials that the Geneva deal grants Iran $20 billion in sanctions relief are "fantastical."
Business leaders are jumping the gun if they choose to forge relationships with Tehran, he added.
"I hope they don't have a six month visa," the official said. "There's no reason to think there's great business opportunity in Iran today."