President biden
Joe BidenREAD: Gigantic COVID-19 relief bill from House Democrats House panel reveals relief package .9T Nunes lawsuit against CNN filed MOREThe decision to open the door to negotiations with Iran and other nations underscores a sudden change from its predecessor and back to the foreign policy of diplomacy, advocated during the Obama years.
The Biden government said Thursday that it would accept an invitation from the European Union to talk to Iran and the other five signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal President Trump
Donald TrumpUN report says Erik Prince violated arms embargo against Libya: Lee report after Romney impeachment vote: There is enough space in the Republican Party ‘for both of us’ Nunes lawsuit against CNN is rejected MORE withdrew in 2018.
Biden’s decision was not surprising, as he campaigned for a return to the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (JCPOA). But the deadline was quick, as his government seeks to restore an agreement he considers vital for the control of nuclear weapons.
Former government officials recognize that returning to the agreement will be a difficult and long process. This week’s events have already opened Biden to criticism from Republicans, who consider the original deal flawed. They are now stepping up their attacks on the new Democratic president.
Still, the Biden movement represents his latest effort to work with allies in shared challenges and to use diplomacy as the primary tool to achieve foreign policy goals, a nearly 180-degree departure from Trump’s “America first” approach to international involvement.
“What this says more than anything else is that the objective is to make diplomacy a centerpiece of what we do, but also to demonstrate again that alliance relations are important, that we will work to reinvigorate them, with which we will work. , “said Dennis Ross
Dennis Alan RossBiden’s six-step strategy to rejoin the nuclear deal with Iran Sullivan is the “listener” to Biden’s national security. Biden finds some Trump moves that will keep MORE, a former aide to former President Obama and a veteran diplomat who worked on Middle East policy.
It is not clear whether Iran will eventually agree to a meeting, although Ross suspects that Tehran would do so “grudgingly”. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted that Iran will “immediately” reverse actions under its nuclear program if the United States suspends the disabling sanctions imposed by Trump.
Iran has warned that it will restrict access by UN atomic agency inspectors from Tuesday, an effort to pressure the U.S. to remove Trump-era sanctions.
Biden said the United States would return to fulfill the agreement if Iran did the same. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki
Jen PsakiBiden will not be able to nominate Tanden, says she will have the votes on the money: what’s next for the nomination of Neera Tanden, Manchin, to oppose the choice of Neera Tanden from Biden MORE told reporters aboard Air Force One that the US would not lift sanctions or take other measures before any meeting.
“It is about having a conversation about the way forward,” said Psaki on Friday, noting that Iran is “very far from fulfilling” the 2015 agreement.
In addition to opening the door to negotiations, the Biden government on Thursday also reversed the Trump administration’s demand that the UN Security Council re-impose “instant” sanctions on Iran and eased domestic travel restrictions on Iranian diplomats.
Rep. Michael McCaul
Michael Thomas McCaulLangevin hopeful new Armed Services panel will throw new spotlight on cybersecurity Are former Trump officials in danger or are China’s sanctions just hot air? China is central to the Republican Party’s efforts to resist Biden MORE of Texas, the top Republican on the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed concern that the new government “was already making concessions in an apparent attempt to resume the deal with Iran.”
State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Friday that measures taken at the UN would align the United States with other members of the security council who disagreed with the instant determination and therefore would strengthen the US position of get involved with allies in Iran.
“This stalemate has weakened our ability to deal with Iran’s destabilizing activities,” Price said of the disagreement in the snapback.
Although the United States has shown solidarity with European allies in expressing its willingness to hold talks with Iran, it is unlikely that the measure will be welcomed by other allies, such as Israel and the Gulf countries.
Biden will need to address Iran’s proxy attacks in the region. Tehran is suspected of a rocket attack in Iraq that killed a US contractor and injured eight others earlier this week, although the Biden government has not publicly blamed Iran.
“We are prepared to resume negotiations with the P5 + 1 on Iran’s nuclear program,” said Biden in comments at the virtual Munich Security Conference on Friday. “We must also address Iran’s destabilizing activities across the Middle East and we will work closely with our European partners and others as we move forward.”
Ross said the challenge for Biden will be to demonstrate that he is not giving Iran anything in advance, while trying to change Tehran’s behavior.
“The main risk will be that the Iranians have obviously taken a stand to try to increase the pressure on us, and the question will be whether they will come to the conclusion that the pressure is working,” said Ross.
Supporters of the 2015 agreement argue that it represents the best way to restrict Iran’s ability to acquire a nuclear weapon, and that Trump’s decision to withdraw and impose sanctions has made the global community less secure and has left the United States isolated from allies. .
“The agreement was not designed to create a perfect marriage between the US and Iran. It is designed to prevent Iran from acquiring enough material for a nuclear weapon in one year,” said Jon Wolfsthal, senior director of arms control and not proliferation of the Obama National Security Council. “The current position is worse than when we were in the Iran deal.”
Wolfsthal also made a distinction between critics of the agreement who genuinely oppose it and those with political motives. He assumed that Biden would work to bring lawmakers to the table who fear returning to the deal.
“There are reasonable people in Congress, Republicans and Democrats, who worry about what will happen in 10 or 15 years, with the start of sunset at JCPOA,” said Wolfsthal. “President Biden would like to extend the duration of these commitments and I think there is a way to do this.”
Critics argue that the original deal was not enough to restrict Iran’s nuclear program and express concern that the Biden government will lift sanctions against Tehran before a sufficient deal is reached.
“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 the most restrictive clauses are about to expire,” said Jim Phillips, senior researcher for Middle East affairs at the conservative. Heritage Foundation.
“For me, the problem with multilateral diplomacy is that US interests are sacrificed and diluted on the way back and forth,” said Phillips of Biden’s approach.
The effort to open discussions with Iran will present an initial test for the Secretary of State Antony Blinken
12:30 Report by Antony BlinkenThe Hill: Vaccination prospects for spring USA officially re-enter Paris climate agreement Biden administration open to restart nuclear talks with Iran MORE and the rest of Biden’s foreign policy team, as they seek to secure allies and reaffirm the US on the international stage.
The developments in Iran came when Biden met with Group of Seven (G7) partners and emphasized his commitment to alliances and multilateral involvement during the speech at the Munich virtual conference. Biden announced that he would commit $ 2 billion to Covax, the international vaccination program for the poorest populations, and celebrated the official US adherence to the Paris climate agreement on Friday.
“The whole strategy is that the United States, working with our allies, will be able to close this agreement again, unless Iran does not want to,” Wolfsthal said. “This is much better than the United States being to blame for the failure of the business.”