Good Signs On Renewing US-Iran JCPOA Nuclear Deal
Good Signs On Renewing US-Iran JCPOA Nuclear Deal
One should probably not get too optimistic yet, although I have been getting quite worried about it, but a report in today;s New York Times seems to indicate that via the rather indirect negotiations going on in Vienna the US and Iran may have worked out a mutually acceptable path of actions that will lead to both nations getting back into compliance with the JCPOA, which the US pulled out of for no good reason in 2018 due to former President Trump. President Biden has said he intended to get back into the deal, and after a bunch of delays, it looks like it might actually be happening before the forthcoming Iranian presidentrial election in June, thought likely to lead to the replacement of current Iran President Rouhani, who negotiated the original deal in 2015, with somebody likely to take a harder line. So, about time.
Barkley Rosser
Blaming Israel, Iran Vows Revenge for Blackout at Nuclear Site
JERUSALEM — The Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, vowed revenge against Israel on Monday morning, a day after a blackout at an Iranian nuclear enrichment site was attributed to an Israeli attack.
Mr. Zarif’s comments highlight the risk of escalation in a yearslong shadow war between Iran and Israel. They also threaten to overshadow efforts in Vienna to encourage Iran to reimpose limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of American sanctions.
In a statement broadcast by Iranian state television, Mr. Zarif was quoted as saying: “The Zionists want to take revenge because of our progress in the way to lift sanctions.”
He added, “But we will take our revenge from the Zionists,” according to the broadcast.
Mr. Zarif’s reported comments followed a power failure on Sunday at the Natanz uranium enrichment site that Iranian officials attributed to Israeli sabotage. The Israeli government formally declined to comment on its involvement, but American and Israeli officials confirmed separately to The New York Times that Israel had played a role. Israeli news outlets, citing intelligence sources, attributed the attack to the Mossad, the Israeli spy agency. …
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Talks in Vienna to try to bring both the United States and Iran back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal were never going to be easy. They might have just gotten even harder.
BRUSSELS — In Vienna last week, the signers of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal came together with what would appear to be a simple task. They wanted to restore compliance with an agreement that puts strict controls on Iran’s nuclear enrichment, to ensure that it cannot build a nuclear weapon, in return for the lifting of punishing economic sanctions.
Both Iran and the United States insist that they want to return to the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. But nothing about the meetings is simple.
The first sessions went well, with working groups established to try to synchronize the return of both countries — a group on sanctions to bring the United States back into compliance and a group on nuclear issues, to bring Iran and its nuclear program back within the limits established in the accord.
But with Iran pressing ahead with enrichment in the meantime, and a mysterious explosion Sunday night at its Natanz nuclear-enrichment plant that American and Israeli officials say is the work of Israel, the atmosphere for the talks will be much more strained. …