President Biden: US Won’t Wait Forever on Iran Nuclear Deal

Refuses to say if US will set a deadline

Throughout months and months of nuclear talks, the US has brought up the idea of time running out. President Biden added to that position today, suggesting the US won’t wait forever.

Iran has long rejected the idea of the US setting artificial deadlines, and doubly so since the US seems to be pushing the process back every time there is a meeting, and lamenting the lack of progress.

Biden’s comments come during his Israel visit, and stay on brand in that they give the impression that the US is about to walk away from the talks.

At the same time, Biden is keeping up his policy of taking contradicting stances, talking about not waiting but also refusing to say if he actually intends to set a deadline or just keep talking about it.

This is something the administration styles as “flexibility,” where they make statements perceived as forceful as a negotiating tactic, but also indicating that they’re not really committed to anything. That’s seen months of US statements where they seem close to declaring the talks over, but never actually do so.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.