Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses Coronavirus (Covid-19) in Tehran, Iran on 21 November 2020 during the National Fighting Council meeting.
Iranian Presidency Handout | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
WASHINGTON – Iran on Sunday rejected an invitation from world powers that signed the 2015 nuclear deal to discuss the regime’s possible return to the negotiating table, a major setback in the Biden government’s effort to reach an agreement. to revive, to reject.
“Given the recent actions and statements by the United States and three European powers, Iran does not consider it time to hold an informal meeting with these countries, as proposed by the EU’s Head of Foreign Policy,” said Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, according to state-run Tehran media.
The White House said on Sunday that the government of Biden was disappointed with Iran’s decision to leave the informal meeting with the US and the other signatories of the 2015 treaty – France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia and China.
“Although we are disappointed with Iran’s response, we remain ready to engage in meaningful diplomacy again to bring about a reciprocal return to compliance with JCPOA commitments,” a senior administration official told NBC News.
“We will consult with our P5 + 1 partners on the best way forward,” the official said, referring to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany.
The Biden government had earlier said it wanted to revive the nuclear deal, but would not suspend sanctions until Tehran complied. Tehran has refused to negotiate while US sanctions remain in place.
The 2015 Joint Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), mediated by the Obama administration, lifted sanctions against Iran that paralyzed its economy and roughly cut its oil exports. In exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief, Iran has agreed to break away from its nuclear program and open its facilities to more extensive international inspections.
The US and its European allies believe that Iran has ambitions to develop a nuclear bomb. Tehran denied the allegations.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump kept a campaign promise and withdrew the United States from the JCPOA, calling it the ‘worst deal ever’. Following Washington’s withdrawal from the important nuclear deal, other signatories to the treaty tried to keep the agreement alive.
US President Donald Trump listens during a meeting in Washington, DC, USA, on Monday, June 15, 2020.
Doug Mills | NYTimes | Getty Images
In a letter released by Sunda, Republican senators warned President Joe Biden not to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal because it was “riddled with problems,” and instead pursued a more comprehensive agreement.
“The scope of any agreement with Iran should address the full range of Iranian behavior, including regional terrorism, ballistic missiles, and the detention of U.S. citizens. It is no surprise that Iraq’s proxies support Assad’s ongoing atrocities in Syria, our troops “Attack and diplomats in Iraq, Lebanon to the brink of collapse, threaten our Israeli and Gulf partners and contribute to the world’s greatest humanitarian disaster in Yemen,” Sens said. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Jim Risch of Idaho, Marco Rubio of Florida, wrote. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Rob Portman of Ohio in a joint letter to Biden.
“Despite criticism of the ‘maximum pressure’ campaign, there is no denying that it has inflicted a cost on Iran for its malicious activities, and it is now offering your government the leverage to obtain a better deal from Iran. “We know that Iran cannot be trusted to meet its obligations,” the senators wrote.
Washington’s Continuing Disagreement with Tehran
An Iranian man walks past rural graffiti on the walls of the former US embassy in Tehran during a protest on November 4, 2018.
Majid Saeedi | Getty Images
Washington’s strained relations with Tehran have deteriorated several times under the Trump administration.
Last year, the United States carried out an air strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, Iran’s leading military commander. Iran retaliated by sending at least a dozen missiles from its territory at two military bases in Iraq on January 7 that house U.S. troops and coalition forces.
A day later from the White House, Trump said Iran looks like he is going to stand still and warns Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
On the heels of the deadly US strike, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Trump administration had committed an ‘act of terrorism’.
Iranian mourners gather on January 7, 2020 during the last phase of funeral marches for the slain top general Qasem Soleimani in his hometown of Kerman.
Atta Kenare | AFP | Getty Images
Soleimani’s death led the regime to further reduce compliance with the international nuclear treaty. In January 2020, Iran said it would no longer limit its uranium enrichment capability or nuclear research.
In October, the United States unilaterally imposed UN sanctions on Tehran through a snapback process, which other members of the UN Security Council had earlier said Washington did not have the authority to carry out because in 2018 of the withdrew nuclear power agreement.
A month later, a leading Iranian nuclear scientist was killed near Tehran, prompting the Iranian government to claim that Israel was behind the attack with US support.
A view shows the scene of the attack on which the prominent Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, outside Tehran, Iran, was killed on November 27, 2020.
WANA via Reuters
During the summer of 2019, a series of attacks in the Persian Gulf put the US and Iran on a path to greater confrontation.
In June, U.S. officials said an Iranian surface-to-air missile fired a U.S. military surveillance drone across Hormuz Street. Iran said the plane was over its territory. The strike came a week after the US blamed Iran for attacks on two oil tankers in the Persian Gulf region and after four tankers were attacked in May.
The U.S. imposed new sanctions on Iranian military leaders in June for killing the drone. The measures also aimed to block the financial resources of Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader.
Tensions escalated again in September 2019 when the US blamed Iran for strikes in Saudi Arabia on the world’s largest crude processing plant and oil field.
That attack forced the kingdom to halve its production activities, causing the largest rise in crude prices in decades, and renewed concerns about a new war in the Middle East. Iran maintains that it was not behind the attacks.