REVEALED: How Biden rejected a reasonable way forward on the Iran Deal
by Trita Parsi, with Responsible Statecraft
Excerpt: Biden’s unwillingness to commit to keeping sanctions off Iran for the rest of his term suggests he is willing to see the JCPOA collapse, not because it cannot be revived, but because it cannot be lengthened and strengthened after it has been revived.
[ Editor’s Note: After Trump’s being in Netanyahu’s pocket on keeping a return to the JCPOA on ice, I had cautiously expected Biden would want to be Trump’s foil and do just the opposite.
After all, we had Trump asking his advisers after he lost his 2020 reelection bid for options to launch a military strike on Iran, but fortunately they were able to talk him out of it. Bibi was not mentioned in the story, nor was Israel, but that is what it had always wanted Trump to do, have Americans do its dirty work for free.
We had a mention of a new Middle East initiative from Biden, and then he later dropped the bomb that he would not guarantee that he would not reimpose sanctions if he rejoined the JCPOA.
Apparently, after Biden had made his big splash ME announcement to polish his ‘fixer’ street cred, it appears the Israelis threatened to unleash the Israel Lobby on him if he did not keep Iran on the hook with sanctions.
I suspect that Iran is moving ahead with its dual conventional and nuclear programs in response to the continuing sanctions war against it. And it has every right to do so because Israel continues its nuclear program and is already talking with the Gulf States about helping them have some nuke toys to play with. VT believes they have had nukes for some time.
I see only one country who has the lobbying power to have America make such a big goof as this, and somehow got a gun to Biden’s head to kill any JCPOA restoration, despite all the potential benefits of the agreement.
Trita Parsi, an Iran expert after many years of work, several major books, has been a great source for VT with his scholarly and realistic reporting on the US-Iran geopolitical cat fight. He has one of his classic overviews on the US wanting to make Iran its ‘Tar Baby in the briar patch’.
Biden’s credibility with Iran is up in smoke with their new conservative theocratic government, a diplomatic stillbirth. Biden the negotiator, Mr. Deal Maker, has put a bullet into the head of making any improvements with Iran, when a deescalation of tensions would have seemed to be a no brainer, and with no real downside risk.
Iran has had no comment since then about the JCPOA, and everybody in the EU certainly knows why. The Iranians don’t trust Biden for an inch now, and don’t want to look foolish engaging in meaningless talks.
The Europeans saw this immediately and now have Iran on the back burner, and they are not holding their breath for an Iranian JCPOA delegation coming back to Vienna any time soon. It seems Tehran will put its time into developing relations with those with whom it feels more comfortable… Jim W. Dean ]
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First published … October 20, 2021
Iran’s delay in rejoining talks in Vienna to revive the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement has fueled speculation that the new Ebrahim Raisi government has lost interest in the accord.
Its deepened mistrust, optimism about its China option, and confidence that it can weather American sanctions have shaped this conclusion, leaving Washington with no choice but to publicly threaten its own shift to more coercion under an undefined Plan B, the narrative goes.
But new information obtained by Responsible Statecraft reveals that that impasse is not because of an Iranian sense of immunity to pressure, but largely because President Joe Biden refused to commit to keeping sanctions lifted on Iran for the rest of his term, even if Iran rejoins and complies with the nuclear deal.
A crucial turning point in the negotiations occurred earlier in May of this year. The Iranians had insisted on legally binding commitments that the United States would respect its signature and not re-quit the JCPOA, were it to be revived.
Though the U.S. team found the Iranian demand understandable, it insisted it could not bind the hands of the next administration, nor guarantee that a future administration hostile to the JCPOA wouldn’t again abandon it.
But according to both Western and Iranian diplomats involved in the negotiations, the Iranians then lowered their demand and requested a commitment that Biden would simply commit to staying within the deal for the rest of his own term, granted that Iran also would remain in compliance.
According to these sources, the U.S. negotiation team took the matter back to Washington but to the surprise of Tehran and others, the White House was not ready to make such a commitment, citing legal obstacles. Instead, it offered changes to the negotiating text that fell short of a legal commitment.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The American response caused paralysis and divisions in Tehran right before the June presidential elections that have paved the way for the current impasse.
While U.S. negotiators have cast doubts on the centrality of the Iranian demand for measures that ensure American compliance, both European and Iranian diplomats insist it is by far the main sticking point for the Iranians.
That message was reinforced last week during EU lead negotiator Enrique Mora’s visit to Tehran, where the Iranians raised this issue at least five times during the 4-hour long consultation on the JCPOA, though carefully avoiding using the term “guarantee.”
Regrettably, from Washington’s standpoint, Iran’s new lead negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani also emphasized that Tehran has shifted back its position, insisting that a three or four-year U.S. commitment no longer is sufficient.
EU diplomats recognize that the ease with which the United States can quit the agreement is a “serious and legitimate concern.” Tehran fears that the unreliability of the U.S. commitment to the JCPOA puts Iran in a very vulnerable position. By realigning with the JCPOA, Tehran will give up much of its nuclear leverage while Washington ostensibly lifts sanctions.
However, sanctions relief will not lead to meaningful economic benefits for Iran unless Western companies feel confident about Washington’s longer-term fidelity to the agreement — which they do not. This would leave Iran giving up its leverage for nothing — particularly if Washington once again exits the deal.
Moreover, the unreliability of sanctions relief also creates expectation management problems for Tehran. As sanctions ostensibly are lifted, the Iranian public’s expectations of future growth increase, as do their dreams and aspirations for a brighter future.
When the sanctions relief fails to live up to expectations — or worse, the United States reimposes sanctions — the Iranian economy takes a huge hit. Unmet expectations and shattered dreams prompt the government to rely on increasingly repressive tools to keep the discontent in check.
American unreliability is simply destabilizing to Iran, making it prefer a stable albeit bad economy over the uncertainty of uncommitted American sanctions relief.
Biden’s aloof approach to this issue has aggravated a second sticking point: The U.S. demand that as soon as the JCPOA is restored, new negotiations should begin to make it “longer and stronger.” The U.S. side has correctly pointed out that it will also benefit the Iranian side to negotiate changes to the agreement, particularly mindful of Tehran’s frustration with the lack of mechanisms to ensure reliable sanctions relief.
But a stronger deal poses several problems for Tehran. First, the JCPOA is a negotiated punishment. Due to Iran’s past violations, restrictions would be imposed on its nuclear program for up to 25 years, after which — presuming it adheres to these restrictions and reinstates confidence in its nuclear activities — Iran’s nuclear program will be normalized.
Seeking a longer deal means lengthening Iran’s punishment, even though it is the United States that breached the agreement through Trump’s exit, not Iran.
Moreover, is Washington seeking a one-time lengthening of the deal or will it seek to add numerous extensions, essentially prolonging certain restrictions in the deal indefinitely and, by that, putting the normalization of the Iranian program out of reach?
Of course, the longer the most severe restrictions are in place, the higher the likelihood that the American people will elect another Trump-like president that will exit the deal once more.
Tehran’s suspicions about U.S. intentions behind the demand for a longer and stronger deal may be misplaced and aggravated by Tehran’s own refusal to speak directly with U.S. negotiators. But it has also been further complicated by Biden’s refusal to commit to keeping sanctions on Iran lifted after Tehran returns to full compliance with the JCPOA.
Biden’s decision has caused both Iranian and EU officials to suspect that the United States seeks to use the threat or actual reimposition of sanctions as leverage in post-JCPOA negotiations for a longer deal.
Meaning, Biden would take a page from the Trump playbook and seek more concessions from Iran by threatening to reimpose sanctions it already has lifted as part of the JCPOA. Iranian and some EU officials suspect that committing to respect the terms of the JCPOA will deprive Biden of leverage in post-JCPOA talks
These considerations have caused Tehran to view a U.S. return to the JCPOA as eminently risky, not just because of the unreliability of the sanctions relief but also fears that the JCPOA will collapse over Washington’s desire for a longer and stronger deal.
If so, with the United States back in the deal, Washington will have a greater ability to punish Iran economically, including the use of the snapback mechanism in the Security Council to automatically reimpose all JCPOA sanctions on Iran, which Trump tried but failed to do.
Tehran may consequently see the current status quo — in which most sanctions remain in place while Iran still manages to sell oil to the Chinese — as preferable to allowing the United States to get back into the JCPOA only to see the deal collapse soon thereafter over Washington’s insistence on an unacceptable lengthening of the agreement’s strictest terms.
Yet, the current status quo can only be sustained if there is, at a minimum, a perception of movement in the negotiations. As such, negotiations will presumably resume in November while Tehran likely will try to keep them at a snail’s pace — slow enough to avoid an agreement on the JCPOA, yet fast enough to keep diplomacy alive.
But here Tehran is gravely miscalculating. The current status quo simply cannot be sustained for long. Without real progress, the Biden administration will eventually fall prey to the pressures from Israel, the UAE, and hawkish Democrats in Congress. At the same time, Washington is mistaken if it believes more pressure or threats of military force will break the deadlock.
But this is the path both may choose. Just as Tehran may prefer the JCPOA to collapse with the United States outside rather than inside of the agreement (assuming it has concluded that the deal will collapse anyway), the Biden team may have reached a similar conclusion.
If a longer and stronger deal is not in the cards, the White House may calculate, then it is better for the JCPOA to collapse now than for Biden to pay the domestic political cost of rejoining the deal only to see it die shortly thereafter.
Indeed, Biden’s unwillingness to commit to keeping sanctions off Iran for the rest of his term suggests he is willing to see the JCPOA collapse, not because it cannot be revived, but because it cannot be lengthened and strengthened after it has been revived.
There is no pressure-centric Plan B that can resolve the growing convergence toward accepting the collapse of the JCPOA in Tehran and Washington. Rather, a more reliable and stable Plan A is needed that both addresses the unsustainability of an agreement that the United States can exit without penalty and that delinks the revival of the JCPOA from legitimate desires to broaden the deal.
Trita Parsi is the Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute and author of Losing an Enemy – Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy
Jim W. Dean is VT Editor Emeritus. He was an active editor on VT from 2010-2022. He was involved in operations, development, and writing, plus an active schedule of TV and radio interviews. He now writes and posts periodically for VT.
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Biden is just stalling for time, knowing that there’s no way that Zionists of all stripes in the USA would allow a nuclear deal with Iran. As Jim said below, “The Zios would just put the hex on his legislative agenda, the same play they make everywhere that anyone challenges them.” I would add that we are all just waiting for the next shoe to drop, maybe a redo of 9/11, this time blamed on Iran. That would force the USA into the cataclysmic war with Iran and Russia that US Christian Zionists pray for. No doubt Israel would be more than willing to oblige.
Tommy when are going to realize that the mullah in Tehran are smarter than to let an inbred settler concoct a false flag to get the ball of rapture going.
The best they can do is to take their dirty clothes with them when they visit Washington.
You seem to forget that Israel nuked us on 9/11 and got away with it. That was the pretext for all the US wars of this century. That’s Israel’s MO, stage a false-flag event and let others do the fighting.
Really, who is surprised? No one should be, as this is exactly what was expected, at least by me. I called this before Biden was even elected. I said that Biden would talk a lot, especially before the election, but would follow the exact same path that Tramp did. And now here we are, exactly there. There never was a real plan or desire to re-implement the plan at all. The next puppet comes in and does the same as the rest…whatever ‘they’ want, regardless any ‘promises’. Just as Trump said all kinds of imaginary BS cures for the US, in reality, he continued the SOS and made the situation worse…just as Biden has and will continue to do. The goal is the same no matter, authoritarian control by whatever BS they can get to stick to the wall. What is even funnier? Those that have always said that those who trade freedom for security (safety), deserve and will get neither. But now, it’s those very same are saying throw them under the bus if they won’t submit. Even his approach to Yemen is worse, as is his Ukraine dealings…more weapons. Why no mention from nearly anyone about the troops leaving Afgh and ending up in Syria and Yemen?
The War for/of The Mind, behavioural psychology, Tavistock, MKULTRA,
-Scofield’s bible
“Scofield, a member of the non-Christian Lotus Club of New York, announced his intention to create a new Christian Bible concordance. Untermeyer, a dedicated Zionist, supported his efforts and introduced Scofield to other Zionists and socialists, such as Samuel Gompers, Fiorello La Guardia, Abraham Straus, Bernard Baruch, and Jacob H. Schiff who helped fund Scofield’s research trips to Britain where he met purported Bible scholars. They also assisted in the publication and distribution of his concordance. Untermeyer and other J ews believed that, if they promoted an imminent rapture or second coming with Christian churches that Christians would relinquish their moral influence on the culture, education, and politics.”
Quote from the book The Ruling Elite All 3 books by Deanna Spingola.
“-The Foundation for the Eternal Feminine website
… the multi billion-dollar Foundation of the Eternal Feminine founded in 2015 by systems analysis guru David Hawk (protégé of Tavistock’s Eric Trist). This strange Beijing/US-based foundation professes to shape a new generation of Chinese Joan of Arcs among the billionaire heiresses of China who represent a surprisingly large quotient of China’s young elite due to the post 1979 one China policy undertaken by Malthusian followers of the Club of Rome associated with Zhao Ziyang.”
From Strategic Culture Foundation website
Israel does not want “Peace” with Iran.
Even the peace deals between Israel and the Arab Dictators are a fragile farce dependent on the survival of the arab dictatorships, in turn making those very same deals in direct opposition to the interests of the victim citizens of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain etc
The Zionist “realism” is a fantasy barely held together by the full might of the United States. There is no realism in an ethnically cleansed, apartheid state surviving. The thing President Biden gets wrong is that Israel won’t have to tolerate a nuclear Iran because Israel will one day cease to exist, be it through a singular state when the world no longer tolerates its current Apartheid existence, or through mutual destruction when a war eventually breaks out, as it always does, but this time things will spiral out of control and Israel forgets they are not the only ones with nukes !
Reply
Biden was most likely threatened by the Tel Aviv regime. US leaders do have an advantage of having their terms limited to one or two mandates, they don’t have to oppose the ME politics suggested and asked of them, their term will end rapidly just as well with little or no influence over ME. What is 4 years in office anyway compared to some other governments or countries. If they achieve 2 business deals and keep a world out of flame that is a lot by their standards. Bush Jr. and Trump couldn’t even achieve that, nor could with 5 mandates.
Iran was wrong and this agreement never was due be signed in first place because always was a cheat. They should have already tested a nuke ten years ago for all to see, as same North Korea did and show them the middle finger.
Now that the illegal sanctions that Trump imposed on Iran have been made obsolete by their participation in the new Belt and Road Initiative with Russia and China, Iran can just give the big f-you to Biden, Trump, and all the crazy Zionists in the USA. The nuclear negotiations train left the station months ago.
In reality, “chances are” Iran already has a handful of nuke tipped ICBMs.
And chances are, Biden has been told this,
and chances are, he believes it.
Don’t show your cards no matter what, and if you do – be sure to show the cards that fool the opponent to your benefit.
You imply that Biden could actually come to some sort of nuclear agreement with Iran without raising the ire of both Israel and ReTrumplicans in Congress. That simply not the case, Jim. The Cult of Trump has big plans for Iran, big plans, I tell you. US Christian Zionists, 50 million strong, 80% of whom voted for Trump in the last election, would go absolutely nuts if Biden did that. With Biden, the politics of the possible always calls the shots.
“The cult of Trump” has been singing the same tune since 1980, it was called Ray Gun back then, and look at where Iran is now and how insignificant USofIsrael has become in the region.
You’re giving way too much credit to a bunch of losers. Too bad you don’t speak Farsi to know where Iran really is in the region.
And if likud wants to go nuclear, you and I won’t be around the next day.
So the “big plans” are not really plans.
What is now the Cult of Trump has really been around for over a century, Newt, as US evangelical Christianity has devolved into being a perverse fundamentalism that idolizes the Scofield Reference Bible. Their “big plans” have always included an apocalyptic end-times eschatology that divides humanity into the good (them) and the evil (everyone else). These are the Rapture-me-outta-here folks who pray for WWIII to happen soon.
“You imply that Biden could actually come to some sort of nuclear agreement with Iran”. No, actually just the opposite. The Zios would just put the hex on his legislative agenda, the same play they make everywhere that anyone challenges them, and to date not a single FBI or DoJ prosection brought against them for extorting the US political process. Imagine that. As for the rapture folks, if I were dictactor of the US I would not let them vote, using a charge of mass terrorism for their goal on wanting to off us all. A big asteroid is going to do it someday anyway, so I say “what’s the hurry”. Eat, drink and be merry, and torment the Trumpers, Zios, and Christian death cult while you can before they make it a capital crime. 🙂
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