Iran hawks win a key concession from Trump administration

WASHINGTON (AP) — In recent days, Iran hawks in Congress leverd Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s interest in a Senate run to win a key concession from Trump ministration that could help ir bid to kill nuclear deal with Tehran.

Late last week, State Department agreed to release a portion of an internal legal opinion that says U.S. has right to demand that all U.N. sanctions on Iran be reinstated, despite President Donald Trump pulling U.S. out of nuclear deal. In exchange, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, lifted his hold on mination for Stephen Biegun to serve as State Department’s . 2 official, according to an ministration official and a congressional aide.

Cruz’s hold on Biegun t only put his mination in jeopardy, but it also risked upending a relatively seamless transition at State Department if Pompeo soon steps down to run for Senate in Kansas. Without Biegun in place, top job at State would have likely gone on an interim basis to a David Hale, a career official who testified in impeachment inquiry into Trump.

behind--scenes drama raises new questions about Pompeo’s future as nation’s top diplomat. A former congressman and Trump’s CIA director, Pompeo has been weighing a Senate campaign in his home state for months, though officials say final decision has been me.

matter also highlights extent to which some Republicans in Washington are still pushing to dismantle remaining elements of Iran nuclear accord more than a year after U.S. withdrew. State Department's legal opinion will be used by Cruz and ors in coming weeks to argue that Washington can still force reimposition of U.N. sanctions set to expire next year.

Cruz placed hold on mination for Biegun, currently U.S. special representative for rth Korea, pending release of Iran opinion. Cruz is an ally of White House and one of most hawkish lawmakers in Congress on Iran.

hold would have scrambled pecking order at State Department should Pompeo depart for a Senate campaign.

current deputy secretary of state, John Sullivan, was confirmed on Thursday to be next U.S. ambassor to Russia. third-ranking official is Hale, most senior department official to testify in impeachment investigation. He shed light on decision to oust Marie Yovavitch from her posting as ambassor to Ukraine, as well as on department’s decision to t defend her.

After considering possibility that Hale would become acting secretary of state with Sullivan off to Moscow and Biegun’s mination on hold, department relented and released Iran memo, according to ministration official and congressional aide.

Hours later, Cruz lifted his hold on Biegun.

ministration official and congressional aide were t authorized to publicly discuss matter and spoke on condition of anymity.

Iran opinion will be used by Cruz and or Iran deals opponents to argue that U.S. should invoke a ``snapback” mechanism for U.N. sanctions that are allowed under Security Council resolution that enshrined 2015 agreement kwn as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, kwn as JCPOA. Snapback would mean reimposition of all U.N. sanctions against Iran, including an arms embargo and travel bans on specific Iranian officials that are due to expire in October 2020.

Under Security Council Resolution 2231, any “participant state” in agreement may invoke snapback if Iran is found to be in “significant n-performance” with agreement. Although Trump withdrew U.S. from nuclear deal last year, resolution names participants as those countries that originally negotiated it: Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, United States and European Union, along with Iran.

Deal supporters have argued that Trump’s withdrawal means U.S. is longer a participant and is thus ineligible to invoke snapback mechanism. Critics of accord maintain langu of Security Council resolution would allow it.

State Department’s legal opinion leans in favor of that latter argument by saying U.S. has a legal avenue to demand restoration of U.N. sanctions.

“As United States is an original JCPOA participant identified in ( UN resolution), re is a legally available argument we can assert that United States can initiate snapback process under UNSCR 2231 by submitting a tification to Security Council of an issue that United States believes constitutes significant n-performance,” State Department opinion says.