US Congress Military Spending Plan Aims to Oppose Iran in the Region

For the past few days, the U.S. Congress has been busy debating the U.S. military budget bill for next year, a bill which usually provides a good barometer of U.S. military and security priorities in relation to various regions around the world. Examining this new bill can tell us about America's efforts to oppose Iran and practice "deterrence" by strengthening neighboring countries in the Persian Gulf.

According to reports from Tabnak, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services has recently published its yearly defense budget, on the basis of which they have asked Obama's government to sign several contracts with member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council in order to prevent the growth of Iran's power and influence.

According to Al-Monitor, Section 1239 of America's 2015 defense budget plan — entitled "Sense of Congress on United States Presence and Cooperation in the Arabian Gulf Region to Deter Iran" — suggests that the U.S. plans to increase its presence in the region and look for ways to enhance stability and security in the GCC countries in opposition to Iran.

In the budget plan, it has been stated that the U.S. has not signed any defense contracts with the key members of the GCC that could help contain Iran. As such, [the plan suggests that] Washington should take steps to secure such agreements at the first possible opportunity.

These suggestions have been put forth at a time when the Republicans have recently renewed their criticisms of Obama in regards to what they call his failure to guarantee an American presence in Iraq and his mistakes in Afghanistan. Republicans hold a majority of seats in the House of Representatives.

Members of the House of Representatives are calling for the U.S. to form contracts with the outlying countries of the Persian Gulf, contracts which they refer to as "Status of Forces Agreements." According to explanations from the Congressional Research Service, this name refers to bilateral or multilateral treaties on the basis of which the American military determines its operations in a foreign country and the host nation specifies its domestic laws toward those forces.

However, in addition to discussions of the military presence in the region and other issues which the U.S. Congress defense budget puts forth, the bill also states that in the final nuclear agreement with Iran, the "military dimensions" of Iran's nuclear program must be taken into consideration. Furthermore, Obama's government has been asked to exert considerable pressure upon "Iran's network of organizations that conduct malign activities.” Among other topics, the plan makes reference to continuing implementation of the existing sanctions against Iran.

In any case, this clause in the American defense budget indicates that one of the major issues currently facing the U.S. Congress is how to oppose Iran given the new developments taking shape in the region and on the world stage.

Considering the text of the aforementioned plan, along with the various analyses conducted by current and former American analysts and politicians, we can conclude that concern over the expanding regional power and influence of Iran following the nuclear agreement and the lifting of sanctions has morphed into a major issue for American politicians, particularly the radical elements of Congress.

On this basis, the representatives of Congress are trying to generate contingencies which America can use to prepare itself for shifting conditions in the Middle East following Iran's rise to power. In other words, these people do not see it as a bad thing that by keeping claims of "military dimensions“ of Iran's nuclear program alive, they are leaving the door open to pressure Iran in the future.