US Says Patience With Iran ‘Not Unlimited’

Iran has been working to preserve the JCPOA, but so far, the Biden administration refuses to rejoin

Since the US withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, Tehran has been working to preserve the agreement, known as the JCPOA. Since coming into office, President Biden has failed to make a sincere effort to revive the JCPOA and has refused to rejoin the deal by lifting sanctions.

Despite the reality of the situation, the US continues to blame Iran. “Our patience is not unlimited,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday when asked if the US’s willingness to talk with Iran had an expiration date.

Until last week, the Biden administration was demanding that Iran scale back its nuclear activity to the limits agreed to when the JCPOA was negotiated before the US lifts sanctions. While the US is now saying it is ready to talk with Iran, Biden administration officials are calling for a stricter agreement than the JCPOA, a demand that Iran will reject.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani is doing everything he can to preserve the chance to revive the JCPOA. Rouhani’s government reached an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to soften the blow of Iran ending its voluntary compliance with the Additional Protocol, which allows the IAEA to conduct snap inspections.

Rouhani is facing intense domestic pressure for the IAEA deal, and comments like Price’s will not help the situation. Despite the bad faith from the Biden administration, Iranian officials continue to be patient with the US and insist that they will return to limits set by the JCPOA when the US rejoins the deal and lifts sanctions.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.