Secretary of State Tony Blinken downplayed the chances of nuclear progress with Iran on Sunday, saying the US has seen no sign Iran will comply with the assorted US demands related to sanctions relief.
To be clear, Iran was complying with the terms of the nuclear deal for years, and has said they will do so again if the US meets its sanctions relief obligations. The US has made no effort to do this, and is demanding Iran go first in meeting all US requirements before any of Iran’s needs are discussed.
All of this gives the impression that this is a deal the US doesn’t really intend to make, and is being orchestrated such that they can try to sell the non-deal as purely Iran’s fault.
Despite this, Blinken did say there was “progress” made in the talks with Iran is Austria, without going into detail on that. Iranian officials are clear they don’t trust the US to keep its word after reneging on the deal, and many are leery of going down the road of acting first again, expecting good faith not to be rewarded in the long run.
Ironically, both sides have effectively granted they’d do everything they agreed to, but neither side is willing to go first.The US has also hinted that they want even more from Iran under the pact,. As usual, the signs are that cooperating to get a deal done is not in anyone’s interest.
As it’s the US that wants to get back in the game with the JCPOA, it’s on us to prove our bona fides. If we can’t do that, Iran has every right to wave us off. We’ve proved we can’t be trusted in the past, so why should today be any different? It’s Iran’s demands we should be considering, not the other way around. Our government has really screwed the pooch on this one.
Blinken; “Iran, I think, knows what it needs to do to come back into compliance on the nuclear side, and what we haven’t yet seen is whether Iran is ready and willing to make a decision to do what it has to do. That’s the test and we don’t yet have an answer”
Other than them saying over and over that they would. And of course, as everyone knows but apparently Tony, the US reneged on the deal not Iran.
More Blinken: “then we can use that as a foundation both to look at how to make the deal itself potentially longer and stronger – and also engage on these other issues, whether it’s Iran’s support for terrorism … its destabilizing support for different proxies throughout the Middle East.”
And then Blinken proves he is full of sh*t and spews more nonsensical talking points while admitting that the US has no intention of going back to the original deal unless Iran is willing to neuter itself.
The falsehood about Israel being the biggest State sponsor of terrorism, is like the lie that Saddam had or was building WMD “in the form of a mushroom cloud.
Ask the victims in Gaza who were terrorized and killed who the biggest State sponsor of terrorism is.
I think you meant Iran instead of Israel in your first sentence.
I did, thanks for the catch. Now I don’t have to edit.
“…unless Iran is willing to neuter itself.” I don’t disagree that it would be consequential, but it’s more like Iran is willing to cut its own throat. Why not threaten Iran with nukes? Wait, we tried that already?
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2968/062005016
You got that right! Iran signed the Real Deal, the NPT, in 1968 and ratified it in 1970. They have been in compliance.
Iran does not have the Bomb, and therefore, is neutered. We want them to stay that way, while trying to dream up some means for a coup.
With a team like Blinken (Israel has the right to defend itself), Nuland and Abrams, what is there to worry about./s
I can’t improve on what you said here. Biden & Company could sweep away all the damage done by the idiot Trump and return to the original agreement. They obviously aren’t willing to do that. Call it dishonesty, incompetence, or both.
Just keep in mind that it was Biden who chose this ass to be Secretary of State.
I agree. Everything Blinken does is on Biden.
the US owes Iran something like $90 billion.
Deal or no deal, give them their money, you imperialist wankers
That was the issue in ’79-’80. Nomi Prins described it very well in her book, “All the Presidents Bankers”.
This is why Iran should never have allowed the US the appearance of “talks.” It was done by the US in bad faith.
I guess there are people out there who still deeply believe that talking is better than lobbing bombs. I know, it seems almost a non-western thing to do–right? Or, should we be thankful that those people still exist?
What goes on in the minds of men who believe that they can get a “better deal” than the original JCPOA?
And why would any country from now on ever sign an agreement with the agree-breaker which we are?
Bingo!