Foreign Affairs committee  I think you described the purpose accurately. It's designed to put particular pressure on particular individuals so that they'll stop doing things they've been doing, which in this case is the oppression of human rights specifically inside Russia. There is talk about expanding th

Foreign Affairs committee  I'm happy to. I think this is a great question. It's the kind of question that, as a former State Department and White House sanctions person, I wrestled with all the time. I don't think there is a perfect answer here, but I'll give you my sense of both the effectiveness but als

Foreign Affairs committee  I think it very much is a possible scenario. It's something that some opponents of the nuclear deal have said they want to do. I don't think it's the most likely scenario now. I think that Trump will attempt to say, “I'm a businessman. I do business. We renegotiate deals all the

Foreign Affairs committee  Sure, I'm happy to. On the issue of the effectiveness of one country withdrawing, it depends on the one country. The United States had the lion's share of sanctions that were affecting business activity in Europe and Asia, because we threatened access to the U.S. market if count

Foreign Affairs committee  Enforcement is absolutely essential here. The deal itself is only as good as what it prevents, and if it doesn't prevent Iranian nuclear expansion, then it's a problem, and it isn't as worth preserving at that point. I think the real issue is that no one has yet shown me, anywa

Foreign Affairs committee  I think that sanctions are most useful in creating a desire on the part of another state to change policies that they otherwise want to keep. Ultimately, these are places where we feel like we have an interest, but we don't have a direct stake. It's not like the Russians have inv

Foreign Affairs committee  Sure, I'd be happy to. Before the election, I said there were three primary challenges to the JCPOA: politics in Washington, politics in Iran, and then the practical issues of implementation. I think with Trump's election, we've seen one of those issues brought immediately to th

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much for the invitation to speak with you today. I'm honoured to be asked to address this committee and to offer my views. You asked in particular for my thinking with respect to Canadian and international sanctions against Iran in the context of your legislative