“If there is a relatively good record of compliance with the deal for the next year and a half or so, it would be quite challenging for the next president, whoever that may be, to actually throw that out,” said Liz Rosenberg, a senior fellow and director of the energy economics and security programme at the Center for a New American Security.

Although a future president technically has the power to reimpose sanctions for which Obama has offered relief, such a move would come with all sorts of challenges to international and diplomatic relationships with both allies and adversaries, she added.

The US and European sanctions were successful in bringing Iran to the negotiating table due in no insignificant part to the fact that they operated in tandem. Without buy-in from Europe to also reimpose its own sanctions on Iran, such action by an American president would serve as more of a symbolic move than one bearing substantial leverage.

“There is a mistaken belief amongst many that the US has an overwhelming and punishing amount of economic pressure that it can turn on whenever it wants, against whomever it wants in any circumstance,” said Rosenberg.