Is the Obama administration capable of fulfilling Iran’s demand for removing unilateral American sanctions, thus paving the way for an agreement over its nuclear issue? Among a sea of sanctions that the UN Security Council, the EU and the US have imposed on Iran, the US sanctions that target its oil industry and banking system have been the most damaging. America's extensive range of sanctions threatens the countries and the companies who trade with Iran with penalties and with being cut off from the US market.

In the last round of talks in Almaty between Iran and the P5+1 in early April, Iran put forth two demands as necessary conditions for reaching any agreement. These included recognition of Iran’s rights to peaceful nuclear technology and termination of international sanctions — obviously including the tough sanctions imposed by the US.

Congressional actions during President Obama's first term have limited the president's ability to provide sanctions relief. Previously flexible executive orders are now constrained. According to Andrew Parasiliti, editor and CEO of Al-Monitor, writing last year in the August-September 2012 issue of the IISS journal Survival, most sanctions on Iran can only be lifted by Congress after the president certifies that “Iran is no longer a state sponsor of terrorism; has ceased its efforts to acquire nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons and related missile delivery systems; and no longer poses a 'significant threat' to the United States and its allies."

It is worth noting here that US sanctions are not limited to Iran's nuclear program. The sanctions laws applying to Iran's banking and oil industries are not subject to much if any presidential maneuver, either. In negotiating with Iran, the president must also consider negotiating with Congress.