The US is working with allies on “alternatives” if the indirect negotiations to revive the Iran nuclear deal fail in Vienna, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Tuesday.
“We continue in this hour, on this day, to pursue diplomacy because it remains at this moment the best option, but we are actively engaging with allies and partners on alternatives,” Blinken said in Indonesia.
Since the talks restarted at the end of November, the US has been accusing Iran of not taking the process seriously because they are not accepting a draft agreement reached in earlier negotiations with the previous Iranian government. Blinken said Iran was wasting time by “advancing totally new positions that are inconsistent with a return to the JCPOA.”
The European signatories to the JCPOA — France, Germany, and Britain — are joining the US in condemning Iran’s position. The three countries released a joint statement that said Iran’s actions mean that the world powers are “rapidly reaching the end of the road” to save the nuclear deal.
Iran has said it wants the US to lift all sanctions that have been imposed since the Trump administration withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018. Despite the accusations from the US, Iran has signaled flexibility and openness to negotiate new draft proposals it has put forward on sanctions relief.
Iran’s top negotiator on Tuesday expressed frustration with the accusations being made by the Western powers. “Some actors persist in their blame game habit, instead of real diplomacy. We proposed our ideas early, and worked constructively and flexibly to narrow gaps,” Iran’s top negotiator in Vienna, Ali Bagheri Kani, wrote on Twitter.
In a sign that the US is not serious about returning to the JCPOA, the Biden administration has imposed new sanctions on Iran amid negotiations and is working on tightening existing ones. The US is also closely coordinating with Israel and hinting at potential military action.
Once again, Biden never intended to return to the JCPOA, and all of this is just more time-wasting while they try to figure out how to deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is the only thing stopping them from starting a war with Iran.
Interesting comment Richard, could you pleas tell us how… Hesbollah is stopping “them” from starting a war with Iran…???????
Because they have enough rockets to overwhelm the Iron Dome.
Feral is right. Hezbollah can keep the Israeli population in bomb shelters 24×7 for months, causing the economy to evaporate. Israel can’t afford that.
“Some actors persist in their blame game habit, instead of real
diplomacy. We proposed our ideas early, and worked constructively and
flexibly to narrow gaps,” They will.. Zionists want the talks to fail. So, therefore don’t expect any thing else from the Zionists’ captives. Those shameless slaves will scuttle in the end
We have to realize the US Christian Fundame3ntalists believe that5 Israel must be destroyed , so that the Messiah can return, as such they dont care as long as there is war, we saw that when the US funded Al Nusra Front (AKA Al Qaeda in Iraq) in Syria in the hope that they would also sweep down from the Golan Heights crossing the Valley of Megiddo, or Armageddon. Be clear the Fundamentalists do not care for Israel they only care that they can cause the Second Coming!
I suspect that very few Americans of influence and authority really believe that, regardless what they may say in public.
For one thing, if the End Times were truly imminent, why are they so busy stuffing their pockets and jockeying for power?
George Bush: ‘God told me to end the tyranny in Iraq’ – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/07/iraq.usa
The Rapture and the Real World: Mike Pompeo Blends Beliefs and Policy – https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/30/us/politics/pompeo-christian-policy.html
Again, that’s what they tell the rubes. But if the Rapture is impending, they sure don’t act like it.
Iran and Israel just like Taiwan are a flashpoint to the unthinkable
Simple reinstate the original protocols, no moving the goal posts!
There’s no logic in Iran negotiating anything short of a full end to sanctions. If America wants to fight a war, they should do it openly rather than trying to create a forever blockade.
US envoy is sacrificing their holiday break in Vienna (sc)….!
Iran made a strategic mistake in re-entering negotiations with the US on the JCPOA. A deal is a deal. They had the upper hand and superior moral position by simply insisting on a return to what was agreed to. They should have stuck to that.
The US always bargains in bad faith, and as has been demonstrated, is an unreliable participant in any deal or negotiations.