A few days ago, Iran announced on October 27th that it agreed to restart the the Iranian nuclear deal negotiations before the end of November, which seemed to bring dawn to the stalled negotiations for several months. However, the recent sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran and Iran’s tough response have once again cast a shadow over this soon-to-be negotiation.
According to Reuters, US Secretary of State Blinken said on October 31st that the United States, Britain, Germany and France were "completely synchronized" in bringing Iran back to the Iranian nuclear deal, but he said it was unclear whether Iran was willing to rejoin the negotiations. Although Iran promised to restart the negotiations at the end of October, after the US announced sanctions against some Iranian enterprises and individuals on October 29, Iran accused the US of being "untrustworthy", and the two key parties in the Iranian nuclear talks fell into a crisis of confidence again.
Since April this year, relevant parties in the Iranian nuclear deal have held six rounds of talks in the Austrian capital, Vienna, to discuss the resumption of compliance between the United States and Iran. Due to the serious differences between the United States and Iran and the change of leadership of the Iranian government, a new round of talks has been delayed.
Appeal and sanction at the same time?
Recently, the Biden administration’s actions on the Iran issue have shown the characteristics of "two sides". On the one hand, it urged Iran to return to the Iranian nuclear deal, on the other hand, it imposed sanctions on Iran again.
On October 30th, the leaders of the United States, Germany, Britain and France met during the G20 Summit in Rome, Italy. According to Al Jazeera, the leaders of the four countries said in a joint statement issued after the meeting that US President Biden promised that the US would return to the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue "conditionally". Biden’s "conditional" means that the United States is willing to return to and fully abide by the Iranian nuclear deal as long as Iran resumes its compliance.
"Only if Iran changes its direction will it be possible to resume the agreement." The leaders of the four countries pointed out in the joint statement that "we urge Iranian President Leahy to seize the opportunity and take sincere actions" to avoid a "dangerous escalation" of the situation.
It is worth mentioning that, according to the National Public Radio (NPR), the leaders of the four countries also stated in the joint statement that they would not relax the sanctions against Iran until Iran took the first step, that is, gradually stopped developing nuclear weapons. For a long time, Iran has always denied this accusation.
In fact, although the United States called on Iran to return to the Iranian nuclear deal, it did not give up the use of "sanctions" to put pressure on Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Treasury Department announced in a statement on October 29th that it would sanction two Iranian enterprises and three related individuals, saying that they provided "critical support" for the UAV project of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its subordinate quds force.
Earlier, a US military base in the Tanf region of southern Syria was attacked by several drones on October 20, and US officials believed that Iran provided support for the attack. Iran has repeatedly denied the allegations against Iran’s drone project, saying that its progress in the military and defense fields is not for aggressive purposes, but only for deterrence.
Regarding why the United States took sanctions against Iran at this time, Qian Xuming, assistant director of the Middle East Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told The Paper (www.thepaper.cn), "The sanctions taken by the United States on the issue of drones are to maintain the balance between Iran and Israel." According to Ha ‘aretz, Israel reported on October 30, before the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on some Iranian enterprises and individuals on the 29th, Israel handed over comprehensive information about the person in charge of Iran’s drone program to the U.S. government.
Qian Xuming further pointed out that "this move (the United States initiated sanctions) has a certain impact on the resumption of negotiations promised by the Iranian side." Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Bagheri said on October 27th that Iran agreed to restart the Iranian nuclear talks before the end of November, and the sole goal of the new round of talks was to "lift the cruel and illegal sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran".
Iran: Biden’s government is "contradictory" and "untrustworthy"
On October 29th, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman khatib Zadeh said that the sanctions imposed by the United States on some entities and individuals involved in Iran’s UAV project exposed the "completely contradictory" behavior of the United States and showed that the United States was "untrustworthy".
Reuters reported that according to the news published on the website of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, khatib Zadeh believed that the current US government expressed its willingness to return to the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue, but continued the Trump-era sanctions, which showed that the United States was actually "untrustworthy".
Khatib Zadeh said that the United States’ extreme pressure policy against Iran has not achieved any purpose so far, and continuing this failed policy will only bring new failures. American pressure and sanctions will not weaken the Iranian government’s determination to safeguard security and tranquility. In this regard, Qian Xuming predicted that "from the perspective of the game situation between the United States and Iran, on the surface, the United States is aggressive. In fact, Iran will not easily make major concessions on the Iranian nuclear negotiations."
In addition to distrust of Biden’s administration’s contradictory words and deeds, the Iranian side has also begun to question the true intention of the United States to return to the Iranian nuclear deal. According to Reuters, citing Iran Daily, the official Iranian media, Iranian Foreign Minister Abdullahiyan pointed out sharply on October 31st that if the United States really intends to return to the Iranian nuclear deal, Biden can achieve this goal by issuing an executive order, and "there is no need for these negotiations".
Qian Xuming pointed out to The Paper that on the one hand, the United States indicated that it would return to the Iranian nuclear deal, on the other hand, it restricted Iran’s means of expanding its influence in the Middle East, which would lead to a complicated and long-term Iranian nuclear issue.