The Iran nuclear deal talks are not technically over. The US presented them as irrevocably stalled, with the EU sending diplomats to try to restart the talks. Even though that worked, the US never really returned to the talks, and is now telling the IAEA Board of Governors that this is entirely Iran’s fault.
In Tuesday’s statement, the US said they needed a “willing partner” to make a deal, but that Iran would need to drop calls for sanctions lifting to make that happen, saying that is preventing the deal.
This appears absurd on the surface. The whole negotiation process was built around a direct exchange, Iran’s return to the 2015 nuclear deal terms in return for the US delivering sanctions relief promised in 2015 but never delivered.
The US suggests their objection is that Iran is seeking sanctions relief on sanctions that are beyond the scope of the civilian nuclear program, and that this amounts to Iranian overreach.
Its difficult to blame Iran, however, as the US almost always couches new Iran sanctions as something vaguely to do with the nuclear program. Sanctions targeting things like Iran’s space program, trying to fire satellites into orbit, have at their core a US idea that space launches are technology for potentially nuclear-capable missile.
Having gone to such a degree to sanction Iran so heavily with spin about the nuclear program, it’s no surprise that Iran would expect some of that to be part of the easing of sanctions. US resistance is likely in no small part because disentangling their huge array of sanctions would be very complicated.
This should tell Iran that US did not want a deal in the first place and the deal is totally dead…!
Everything is complicated to US. Not a shocker. The caliber of professionals on all llevels of Government is staggeringly poor. Mostly paper pushers, or ideoligues. Knowing anything of real value is not a prerequisite for a job. In foreign policy — all you need to know is bulluing.
Domestically — who cares.
Bianca, that’s why “people” go into politics: they’re not capable of holding real jobs.
True, the US wants everything while offering next to nothing. It wants to keep sanctions, maybe shift its excuses, until it gets regime change.
“US resistance is likely in no small part because disentangling their huge array of sanctions would be very complicated.”
Is that a fact or is that we’re told? Couldn’t an executive order end them? Biden could use national security bullshit reasons like we need their god damn oil on the market.
This reminds me of a joke that is sometimes seen in company break rooms.
“The beatings will stop when morale improves.”
But seriously, Trafigura, the world’s second largest oil trader is predicting that the price of oil will rise to $150 per barrel this year. Oil is currently trading at $119 a barrel. Either Blinken does not realize that sanctions on Iran’s oil are directly contributing to stagflation in the US, or he doesn’t care.
Blinken is just plain evil.
“This appears absurd on the surface. The whole negotiation process was
built around a direct exchange, Iran’s return to the 2015 nuclear deal
terms in return for the US delivering sanctions relief promised in 2015
but never delivered.”
For the past YEAR we’ve been told in this column that the deal was almost done and only “some details” need to be worked out. For a YEAR I’ve said that sanctions relief WAS the deal.
And now we’re told that Iran even ASKING for sanctions relief if what is holding up the deal.
So WHAT IS THE DEAL? This is bullshit!