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Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R44139 Summary Congress is currently in a period of formal review, being conducted on the basis of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (P.L. 114-17), of the "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action" (JCPOA) nuclear agreement concluded between Iran and six negotiating powers ("P5+1") on July 14. The period for initial congressional review under the Act is to conclude on September 17. The agreement has raised a wide variety of questions in Congress. Issues include the specific terms of the deal; the implications for inspections, proliferation, and sanctions; the broader political context in the region and beyond; and impacts on U.S. and global oil markets. Questions also arise with regard to legal aspects of the deal and the procedures for congressional review. The table below provides contact information for the CRS experts covering various aspects of this JCPOA evaluation. For further background on the JCPOA, see CRS Report R43333, Iran Nuclear Agreement, by Kenneth Katzman and Paul K. Kerr. For additional background on international sanctions on Iran, see CRS Report RS20871, Iran Sanctions, by Kenneth Katzman, and CRS Report R43311, Iran: U.S. Economic Sanctions and the Authority to Lift Restrictions, by Dianne E. Rennack. For additional information on Iran's nuclear program, see CRS Report R40094, Iran's Nuclear Program: Tehran's Compliance with International Obligations, by Paul K. Kerr. For additional analysis on some of the regional implications of the Iran agreement, see CRS Report RL33476, Israel: Background and U.S. Relations, by Jim Zanotti; CRS Report R43612, The "Islamic State" Crisis and U.S. Policy, by Christopher M. Blanchard et al.; CRS Report R43960, Yemen: Civil War and Regional Intervention, by Jeremy M. Sharp; and CRS Report RL33487, Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response, coordinated by Christopher M. Blanchard. For additional analysis on implications of the eventual lifting of the U.N. ban on arms sales as well as for U.S.-Iran relations, see CRS Report RL32048, Iran, Gulf Security, and U.S. Policy, by Kenneth Katzman. For information on the procedures for congressional review, see CRS Report R44085, Procedures for Congressional Action in Relation to a Nuclear Agreement with Iran: In Brief, by Valerie Heitshusen and Richard S. Beth. Contents Introduction 1 CRS Experts 2 Contacts Author Contact Information 4 Acknowledgments 4 Introduction Congress is currently in a period of formal review, being conducted on the basis of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (P.L. 114-17), of the "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action" (JCPOA) nuclear agreement concluded between Iran and six negotiating powers ("P5+1") on July 14. The period for initial congressional review under the Act is to conclude on September 17. The agreement has raised a wide variety of questions in Congress. Issues include the specific terms of the deal; the implications for inspections, proliferation, and sanctions; the broader political context in the region and beyond; and impacts on U.S. and global oil markets. Questions also arise with regard to legal aspects of the deal and the procedures for congressional review. The table below provides contact information for the CRS experts covering various aspects of this JCPOA evaluation. For further background on the JCPOA, see CRS Report R43333, Iran Nuclear Agreement, by Kenneth Katzman and Paul K. Kerr. For additional background on international sanctions on Iran, see CRS Report RS20871, Iran Sanctions, by Kenneth Katzman, and CRS Report R43311, Iran: U.S. Economic Sanctions and the Authority to Lift Restrictions, by Dianne E. Rennack. For additional information on Iran's nuclear program, see CRS Report R40094, Iran's Nuclear Program: Tehran's Compliance with International Obligations, by Paul K. Kerr. For additional analysis on some of the regional implications of the Iran agreement, see CRS Report RL33476, Israel: Background and U.S. Relations, by Jim Zanotti; CRS Report R43612, The "Islamic State" Crisis and U.S. Policy, by Christopher M. Blanchard et al.; CRS Report R43960, Yemen: Civil War and Regional Intervention, by Jeremy M. Sharp; and CRS Report RL33487, Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response, coordinated by Christopher M. Blanchard. For additional analysis on implications of the eventual lifting of the U.N. ban on arms sales as well as for U.S.-Iran relations, see CRS Report RL32048, Iran, Gulf Security, and U.S. Policy, by Kenneth Katzman. For information on the procedures for congressional review, see CRS Report R44085, Procedures for Congressional Action in Relation to a Nuclear Agreement with Iran: In Brief, by Valerie Heitshusen and Richard S. Beth. CRS Experts Legislative IssuesName/TitlePhoneEmail General Overview of the JCPOA, General Policy Towards Iran General overview of the JCPOA, U.S. policy towards IranKenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs7-7612kkatzman@crs.loc.gov General overview of the JCPOA Paul Kerr, Analyst in Nonproliferation 7-8693 pkerr@crs.loc.gov U.S. and International Sanctions Towards Iran Economic sanctions on Iran Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs 7-7612 kkatzman@crs.loc.gov U.S. economic sanctions on Iran and the authority to lift restrictions, legislative parameters in regards to state sponsors of international terrorism, UN sanctions procedure Dianne Rennack, Specialist in Foreign Policy Legislation 7-7608 drennack@crs.loc.gov EU sanctions on Iran Derek Mix, Analyst in European Affairs 7-9116 dmix@crs.loc.gov Global Oil Market Iran in the global oil market, the Strait of Hormuz Michael Ratner, Specialist in Energy Policy 7-9529 mratner@crs.loc.gov The global oil economy, Iranian oil market, U.S. crude oil policy Robert Pirog, Specialist in Energy Economics 7-6847 rpirog@crs.loc.gov Legislative Issues: U.S. oil exports in relationship to displacing Iranian oil Phillip Brown Specialist in Energy Policy 7-7386 pbrown@crs.loc.gov International Response to the JCPOA Persian Gulf states Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs 7-7612 kkatzman@crs.loc.gov The Islamic State and Al Qaeda-Affiliated groups, armed conflict in Syria, Iraq Carla Humud, Analyst in Middle Eastern and African Affairs 7-7314 chumud@crs.loc.gov Civil war in Yemen, Egypt, the Islamic State Jeremy Sharp, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs 7-8687 jsharp@crs.loc.gov Persian Gulf states, armed conflict in Syria, the Islamic State, Hezbollah, Sunni/Shiite dynamics Christopher Blanchard, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs 7-0428 cblanchard@crs.loc.gov Israel, Palestine, Turkey, Hamas Jim Zanotti, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs 7-1441 jzanotti@crs.loc.gov European response to the deal Kristin Archick, Specialist in European Affairs 7-2668 karchick@crs.loc.gov Derek Mix, Analyst in European Affairs 7-9116 dmix@crs.loc.gov Paul Belkin, Analyst in European Affairs 7-0220 pbelkin@crs.loc.gov Congressional Procedures in Regards to JCPOA Procedures for congressional action in relation to a nuclear agreement with Iran Richard Beth, Specialist on Congress and the Legislative Process 7-8667 rbeth@crs.loc.gov Valerie Heitshusen, Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process 7-8635 vheitshusen@crs.loc.gov Christopher Davis, Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process 7-0656 cmdavis@crs.loc.gov International Law, Human Rights International law and agreements with regards to JCPOA Michael Garcia, Legislative Attorney 7-3873 mgarcia@crs.loc.gov Efforts to obtain compensation for the 1979-1981 Iran Hostage Crisis, international law applying to the Iran Hostage Crisis, terrorism lawsuits against Iran Jennifer Elsea, Legislative Attorney 7-5466 jelsea@crs.loc.gov United Nations, Human rights in Iran, Women's rights in Iran Luisa Blanchfield, Specialist in International Relations 7-0856 lblanchfield@crs.loc.gov Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Weaponry, Iranian Missile Program, Nonproliferation Iranian compliance with international obligations, technical details of Iran's nuclear program, IAEA safeguards and verification Paul Kerr, Analyst in Nonproliferation 7-8693 pkerr@crs.loc.gov IAEA, other nonproliferation agreements Mary Beth Nikitin, Specialist in Nonproliferation 7-7745 mnikitin@crs.loc.gov Arms control, verification Amy Woolf, Specialist in Nuclear Weapons Policy 7-2379 awoolf@crs.loc.gov Iranian ballistic missile program, Iranian space program Steven Hildreth, Specialist in U.S. and Foreign National Security Programs 7-7635 shildreth@crs.loc.gov Nuclear energy policy, nuclear cooperation with foreign countries, nuclear power and fuel cycle technology Mark Holt, Specialist in Energy Policy 7-1704 mholt@crs.loc.gov Author Contact Information Zoe Danon, Coordinator Section Research Manager zdanon@crs.loc.gov, 7-7127 Acknowledgments David Tramonte, CRS Research Associate, contributed to this report