October 30, 2021
The Biden administration is not willing to return to the original nuclear deal with Iran. It wants a much different deal that it can then use to further pressure Iran into more, unrelated concessions. That strategy will fail.
Iran knows that the U.S. is not serious about returning to the JCPOA.
These few headlines are sufficient to explain that:
Urges to show 'good faith' ...
> The United States on Friday hit Iran with a fresh set of sanctions as President Joe Biden prepares for a key weekend meeting with European leaders to discuss the possible resumption of nuclear talks with the Islamic Republic.The Treasury Department announced the new penalties against two senior members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and two affiliated companies for supplying lethal drones and related material to insurgent groups in Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen and to Ethiopia, which has been fighting rival Tigray forces for almost a year.
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Friday's sanctions block any assets that those targeted may have in U.S. jurisdictions, bar Americans from transactions with them and, perhaps more importantly, also subject foreign people and firms that do business with them to potential penalties.
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The two firms, the Kimia Part Sivan Co. and the Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar Co., along with the latter's managing director, were sanctioned for supplying engines and technical assistance to the drone programs, Treasury said. <
The new sanctions will of course make the negotiations even more difficult if not impossible. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the Biden administration is not really interested in closing a deal. It has however no alternative if it wants to at least somewhat limit Iran's nuclear program. A war against Iran would end with a defeat of the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East.
Posted by b on October 30, 2021 at 16:07 UTC | Permalink