President Biden
Joe BidenREAD: House Democrats’ huge COVID-19 unveiling bill House panel unveils .9T relief package Nunes case thrown out against CNN MOREThe decision to open the door to negotiations with Iran and other nations underscores a sharp departure from its predecessor and back to the diplomacy — first foreign policy pursued during the Obama years.
Biden’s government said on Thursday that it would accept an invitation from the European Union to talk to Iran and the five other signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal. President Trump
Donald TrumpUN report says Erik Prince violated arms embargo against Libya: Lee reports on Romney’s accusation ‘There is enough room in GOP’ for both ‘Nunes case against CNN being thrown out more’ withdrew in 2018.
Biden’s decision was not surprising, as he sought to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). But it comes at a rapid timeline because its government wants to restore an agreement they see as essential to nuclear weapons control.
Former government officials acknowledge that joining the agreement will be a difficult and lengthy process. This week’s developments have already opened the door for criticism from Republicans who view the original agreement as flawed. They are now intensifying their attacks on the new Democratic president.
However, Biden’s move represents his latest attempt to work with allies on shared challenges and use diplomacy as the primary tool to achieve foreign policy goals, a nearly 180-degree departure from Trump’s America’s first ‘approach to international involvement.
“What it says more than anything else is that the aim is to make diplomacy a center of what we do, but also to demonstrate again that the alliance relations are important, that we will work to arouse them, with which we will they work, ”he said. Dennis Ross
Dennis Alan RossBiden’s six-step strategy to rejoin Iran’s nuclear deal, Sullivan, is a listener to Biden’s national security. Biden finds some Trump moves he will like more, a former adviser to former President Obama and veteran diplomat who worked on Middle East policy.
It is unclear whether Iran will eventually agree to a meeting, although Ross suspected Tehran would do so “resentfully”. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted that Iran would “immediately” stop actions under its nuclear program if the US took up crippling sanctions imposed by Trump.
Iran has warned that from Tuesday it will restrict access to UN nuclear inspectors, an attempt to put pressure on the US to remove sanctions from the Trump era.
Biden said the US would again abide by the agreement if Iran did the same. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki
Jen PsakiBiden will not win the Teeth nomination, says she will get the votes on the money: What’s next for Neera Teeth’s nomination Manchin to oppose Biden’s choice of Neera Teeth MORE? told reporters aboard Air Force One that the US would not lift sanctions or take other action before any meeting.
“It’s about having a conversation about the way forward,” Psaki said on Friday, noting that Iran is a “long way from compliance” with the 2015 agreement.
In addition to the opening of negotiations, the Biden administration on Thursday also reversed the Trump administration’s demand that the UN Security Council reintroduce a “snapback” sanction against Iran and ease domestic travel restrictions on Iranian diplomats.
Rep. Michael McCaul
Michael Thomas McCaul Langevin hopes the new Armed Services panel will shine new spotlight on cyber security Are former Trump officials in hot water, or are China’s sanctions just hot air? China central to GOP’s efforts to push Biden back MORE of Texas, the leading Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee, has expressed concern that the new government “is already making concessions in an apparent attempt to re-enter into the erroneous Iran deal.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Friday that the steps taken at the UN would align the US with other members of the Security Council who disagreed with the snapback’s determination and therefore the position. of the US to enter into talks with allies over Iran will strengthen.
“That deadlock has weakened our ability to address the destabilizing activities of Iran,” Price said of the disagreement over snapback.
While the US has shown solidarity with European allies by expressing their willingness to talk to Iran, the move is unlikely to be welcomed by other allies such as Israel and Gulf states.
Biden will have to address Iran’s power of attorney attacks in the region. Tehran is suspected in a rocket attack in Iraq that killed a U.S. contractor and wounded eight other people earlier this week, although the Biden government did not publicly blame Iran.
“We are ready to engage again with the P5 + 1 on Iran’s nuclear program,” Biden said at the virtual security conference in Munich on Friday. “We must also address the destabilizing activities of Iran in the Middle East, and we will continue to work closely with our Europeans and other partners as we continue.”
Ross said the challenge for Biden would be to show that he did not concede to Iran in advance, while also trying to change Tehran’s behavior.
“The biggest risk is that the Iranians obviously have an attitude of trying to put pressure on us, and the question will be whether they will conclude that the pressure works,” Ross said.
Proponents of the 2015 agreement argue that it is the best way to curb Iran’s ability to acquire a nuclear weapon, and that Trump’s decision to withdraw and reintroduce sanctions has made the world community less secure and isolated the US from allies.
“The agreement is not intended to create a perfect marriage between the US and Iran. It is designed to prevent Iran from acquiring enough material for a nuclear weapon within a year, “said Jon Wolfsthal, senior director of arms control and non-proliferation at the Obama National Security Council. “The current situation is worse than where we were under the Iran agreement.”
Wolfsthal also drew a distinction between critics of the agreement who were really opposed to it and those who had political motives. He suspects Biden will work to bring lawmakers to the table who are concerned about rejoining the agreement.
“There are reasonable people in Congress, Republicans and Democrats, who are worried about what will happen in ten or fifteen years when the sunset starts on the JCPOA,” Wolfsthal said. “President Biden wants to extend the commitments and I think there is a way to do that.”
Critics argue that the original agreement did not do enough to curb Iran’s nuclear program and expressed concern that the Biden government had lifted sanctions against Tehran before reaching a sufficient agreement.
“I am not opposed to negotiations with Iran, but I think it would be a mistake to return to the original flawed agreement, many of which have restrictive provisions due to sunset,” said Jim Phillips, senior research fellow for business. in the Middle East at the Conservative Heritage Foundation.
“To me, the problem with multilateral diplomacy is that American interests are sacrificed back and forth and diluted,” Phillips said of Biden’s approach.
The attempt to open talks with Iran will provide an early test for the foreign minister Antony Blinken
Antony BlinkenThe Hill’s report from 12:30: US vaccination prospects for spring officially rejoin Paris climate agreement, Biden’s government can resume nuclear talks with Iran and the rest of Biden’s foreign policy team to secure allies and reaffirm the US on the international scene.
Developments across Iran took place when Biden met with Group of Seven (G7) partners and highlighted his commitment to alliances and multilateral involvement during the speech at the virtual conference in Munich. Biden has announced that it will commit $ 2 billion to Covax, the international program for vaccinating poorer populations, and celebrated the United States, which officially rejoined the Paris climate agreement on Friday.
“The whole strategy is that the US, along with our allies, will be able to reconstitute this agreement unless Iran does not want to do it,” Wolfsthal said. “It’s much better than the US to blame for that.”