The Biden government is taking steps to rejoin the nuclear deal in Iran, with officials who will take part in high-level talks with Vienna next week with the signatories to the 2015 Joint Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The US and Iran are not expected to meet face-to-face, although government officials have said they remain open to direct talks.
The Vienna Convention is the biggest step forward for the Biden team, which will hold talks with European, Russian and Chinese counterparts on what steps the US can take to achieve a “reciprocal return” for both America and Iran.
The meeting is likely to establish an intense inquiry into Capitol Hill, where hundreds of lawmakers have signed a handful of letters to the president and foreign minister. Antony Blinken
Antony BlinkenKerry says the US can be hopeful of working with China on the climate. Blinken recalls sanctions against ICC officials imposed by Trump Biden holds first phone call with Ukrainian president MORE about their concerns about Iran.
The Foreign Affairs Committee chaired by the chair Gregory Meeks
Gregory Weldon MeeksIran talks set up delicate dance for Biden team Home panel promotes 2002 war-torn bill Bipartisan House bill would revoke decades-old war powers MORE (DN.Y.), support tweeted for the meeting.
‘This is an important, albeit preliminary, step. “Tough and smart diplomacy in close coordination with our European allies and regional partners is the best way to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and restoring full compliance with the JCPOA,” he said.
President Biden
Joe Biden Lawyers say the solution to the border crisis is Biden’s task Trump is asking Republicans to boycott companies amid controversial White House laws: GOP ‘struggled to articulate’ reason to oppose infrastructure plan MORE. made accession to the agreement a priority policy for his government. He has appointed Robert Malley, a key member of the negotiating team that mediated the 2015 agreement, as the US special envoy to Iran.
The agreement, which was negotiated during the Obama administration while Biden was vice president, placed significant, but temporary, restrictions on Iran’s nuclear capabilities in exchange for the easing of sanctions by the US and international community.
Critics argue that it did not go far enough to prevent Iran from ever reaching a nuclear weapon and did not address a series of malicious activities by the Islamic Republic, including its ballistic missile programs, support for proxy fights in the Middle East , support for terrorism. and human rights violations.
“The United States may not once again abandon the leverage that Iran brings to the negotiating table without encountering Iran’s nuclear activities and non-nuclear activities that must be stopped,” 140 House Republics wrote in a letter to President in February Biden written. against a return to the JCPOA.
The former Trump administration reintroduced sanctions against Iran when it withdrew from the agreement in May 2018, adding a range of other sanctions as part of a “maximum pressure campaign” aimed at forcing Tehran to the negotiating table for a stronger agreement.
Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful, but nuclear watchdogs say the Islamic Republic is probably only a few months away from building a bomb. Iran began increasing its uranium enrichment in 2019, breaking the terms of the JCPOA in retaliation for the sanctions imposed by the then Trump administration.
The Biden team and Iran were in a “who goes first” puzzle over the demands of each side.
The US is concerned about the enrichment of uranium to 20 percent of Iran, well above the limit of 3.67 percent. Uranium is considered a weapon grade when enriched to about 90 percent.
The Biden team has called on Iran to reverse its uranium enrichment before easing sanctions. Tehran calls it a nonstarter.
The meeting in Vienna will seek to draw up a roadmap of the steps that both sides can take to bring them back to the agreement, including identifying measures for lifting sanctions and implementing nuclear power, according to a statement. which was announced by the signatories of the JCPOA – China on Friday. , France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran.
State Department deputy spokeswoman Jalina Porter said in a briefing with reporters that the U.S. would not anticipate any specific sanctions that would be lifted, but that steps to ease sanctions would be discussed during the meeting.
‘We are going to talk about key steps that Iran will have to take to comply with the provisions of the JCPOA again, and we will not anticipate any specific sanctions, but we will definitely say that the steps to ease the sanction that the US will have to take to also return to compliance, we will be discussed, ”she said.
Naysan Rafati, senior analyst at Iran at the International Crisis Group, said both Washington and Tehran agreed on a return to the JCPOA, but that the road to mutual compliance was not going to be easy.
“The discussions are likely to meet challenges regarding the scope and order on both the nuclear and sanctions relief front, as well as skepticism in Washington as well as Tehran,” he said.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers have sought to close the gap in their disagreement over the usefulness of the JCPOA as part of efforts to promote a united front in their opposition to Iran’s alleged pursuit of a nuclear weapon and destabilizing actions in the region.
Last month, 40 senators from both sides of the aisle signed a letter to the president urging the use of all diplomatic and economic instruments to prevent Iran from developing the ability to acquire a nuclear weapon.
“Iran should have no doubt about America’s policies. Democrats and Republicans may have tactical differences, but we are united in preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon and addressing the wide range of illegal Iranian behavior. We look forward to working with you to achieve these goals, ‘the senators wrote.
Similarly, a dual letter signed by 140 members of the House was asked to address the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and its other worrying actions.
“As Democrats and Republicans from across the political spectrum, we are united in preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon and addressing the wide range of illegal Iranian behavior,” they wrote.
Lawmakers are also concerned about easing sanctions on Iran without meaningful verification that it has taken steps to re-establish itself with the JCPOA.
Foreign Minister Antony Blinken responded in the affirmative when asked by Rep. Brad Sherman
Bradley (Brad) James Sherman Iranian talks set up a delicate dance for the Biden team. Biden can build on Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq. The bipartisan resolution supports the Iranian public amid Biden to reintroduce the nuclear deal. (D-Calif.) During a trial last month that the US would make no concessions to secure a meeting with Iran or lift sanctions before Iran fully complies with the JCPOA, or is on a negotiated path to full compliance.
Rep. Michael McCaul
Michael Thomas McCaul Iranian talks set up a delicate dance for the Biden team Home panel promotes bill to revoke 2002 war authorization Hundreds of migrants found in three trucks near Mexico’s border with Guatemala MORE (R-Texas) further urged Blinken to commit to consulting formally with Congress before lifting any sanctions.
“We are determined not to consult about the landing across the border, but especially in Iran,” Blinken said.