Talks to Revive Iran Nuclear Deal in Jeopardy
The Iranian flag flies outside of a UN building in Vienna in May, 2021. Photo: Lisi Niesner / Reuters
Talks in Vienna between Iranian and US officials regarding the revival of the nuclear deal have stalled, with Tehran and Washington blaming each other for the failure to reach a new agreement. Conditions set by Iranian lawmakers have caused significant delays, most notably a requirement that the U.S. Congress would have to establish legal guarantees to prevent the U.S. from reneging on the deal again.
The 2015 pact, which is considered the foremost foreign policy achievement of the Obama administration, was abandoned by President Trump in 2018, who described it as “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.” After promises made by President Biden on the campaign trail, negotiations to re-engage with the deal have been ongoing for the past year.
In addition to the legislative measures that 250 Iranian MPs have requested from the U.S. Congress, the country’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, said that Biden should lift some of the sanctions on Iran via executive order as a gesture of goodwill. Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Amirabdollahian added, “On the issue of sanctions removal, Iran's interests must be fully realized and tangible action must be taken on the ground”.
Trump’s exit from the agreement prompted the initiation of his “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign, which are reported to have caused widespread hardship amongst the Iranian people. The sanctions, which severely limited Iranians’ access to medicine and food, are also considered to be responsible for intensified suffering associated with the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in Iran.
Amirabdollahian’s ministry has simultaneously announced sanctions on 24 American officials, however, including former U.S. generals and former lawyer for President Trump Rudy Giuliani. In a press release published last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed the sanctions were being enacted on account of the individuals’ involvement in “terrorist acts, glorification and supporting terrorism and gross violations in human rights.”
Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian following a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, in October 2021. Photo: Aziz Taher / Reuters
These measures are in addition to the opposition expressed by high-ranking Iranian clerical leaders, such as Ayatollah Khamenei, who told a gathering of other senior officials that the negotiations should not determine the country’s future, according to state TV.
President Biden and his delegates on the ground have also faced pressure from U.S. lawmakers. Whilst Congressional Republicans have been consistent in their criticism of the plan to revive the deal. With 49 senators telling the administration that they will not support the pact, Democrats are beginning to express concerns as well. They claim the Biden administration has not been sufficiently transparent about the status of the talks.
A bipartisan letter signed in March by 140 members of Congress asks Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to address three key issues they claim stands in the way of a final deal, including the extension of restrictions on the country’s nuclear program, continued diplomacy with the country to monitor its activities, and Iran’s “malign behavior throughout the Middle East”.
With these multifaceted issues threatening the deal’s success, Iran is allegedly continuing the production of nuclear material it initiated in 2019. In a closed door briefing last month, administration officials warned that the country is now closer than ever to producing enough material for a nuclear weapon. With Tehran and Washington continuing to blame each other for the stagnated negotiations, it is unclear what the path forward will be.