Iran risks escalation in Iraq, fires diplomatic flare for 'veteran politician' Biden

No need for negotiations. Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said if the incoming Biden administration revokes “only three executive orders” that imposed sanctions on Iran, there is no need for “preconditions or negotiations” on a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or Iran nuclear deal). If the United States ends sanctions, “Iran will carry out its obligations too,” Zarif said.

Back to the Future. US President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and imposed sanctions via executive orders that have contributed to Iran’s economic woes, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, low oil prices and systemic corruption. In response, Iran increased its enrichment of uranium, a necessary step toward developing a nuclear weapon, exceeding levels imposed by the JCPOA. Iran has not yet reached weapons-level stockpiles or even the pre-JCPOA levels; its actions are reversible. Iran has also expanded its use of centrifuges, in violation of the JCPOA.

No wasted opportunities. US President-elect Joe Biden has said that he will consider a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, the Iran nuclear deal), but only if Iran is in “strict compliance” with the JCPOA’s terms. But Iran’s not in compliance, as noted above. Iran has until now said that it would not comply unless the United States offered both an apology and compensation for losses incurred under sanctions since 2018.

‘The situation will improve.' Iran’s message has softened since Biden defeated Trump in the US presidential election. Iran President Hassan Rouhani said last week that “no one has the right to waste opportunities.” Zarif, in his comments today, said that he has known Biden for 30 years, referring to him as a “veteran politician.”