United States President Joe Biden promised he would not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons capability. However, three of Biden’s key negotiators were not convinced and submitted their resignations over the weekend.
The resignations jeopardized months-long, high-level negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear development program.
The Vienna-based nuclear talks are reportedly stalled. Negotiators have expressed frustration that Biden’s “soft-on-Iran” policies resulted in U.S. representatives “having to negotiate from a position of weakness.”
The Wall Street Journal reports:
“U.S. officials confirmed over the weekend that Richard Nephew, the deputy special envoy for Iran, has left the team. Mr. Nephew, an architect of previous economic sanctions on Iran, had advocated a tougher posture in the current negotiations, and he hasn’t attended the talks in Vienna since early December.”
The WSJ report continues:
“Two other members of the team, which is led by State Department veteran Robert Malley, have stepped back from the talks, the people familiar said, because they also wanted a harder negotiating stance.”
The U.S. negotiation team is not in agreement regarding the enforcement of existing policies and sanctions against Iran. Some want to ease sanctions, while others warn Iran is prolonging negotiations to buy time to advance its nuclear program.
The WSJ report added:
“The divisions come at a pivotal time, with U.S. and European officials warning that only a few weeks remain to rescue the 2015 deal before Iran acquires the know-how and capability to quickly produce enough nuclear fuel for a bomb. Under the agreement, the U.S. lifted most international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for strict but temporary limits on Iran’s nuclear work. The Trump administration exited the agreement, seeing it as insufficient to restrain Iran, and the Biden administration is trying to reverse course.”
In recent months, Iran has increased threats and attacks on Israeli and U.S. interests, including commandeering ships, transporting heavy weaponry into Syria, and launching drone strikes against U.S. personnel in Iraq and friendly targets in Saudi Arabia.
Last year, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett stated that in light of Iran’s increased threats and nuclear ambitions, Israel was preparing to take action against Iran, adding that Israel would never allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
The Times of Israel reported that Bennett expressed his frustrations at the United Nation’s meeting last fall:
“Iran’s nuclear weapon program is at a critical point. All red lines have been crossed. Inspections — ignored. All wishful thinking — proven false. Iran is currently violating the IAEA’s safeguard agreements — and it’s getting away with it. They harass inspectors and sabotage their investigations — and they’re getting away with it. They enrich Uranium to the level of 60 percent, which is only one step short of weapons-grade material — and they’re getting away with it.”
“Evidence which clearly proves Iran’s intentions for nuclear weapons in secret sites in Turquzabad, Teheran & Marivan — is ignored,” he continued. “Iran’s nuclear program has hit a watershed moment. And so has our tolerance.”
Ensuring his point was well-made, Bennett concluded:
“Words do not stop centrifuges from spinning. There are those in the world who seem to view Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons as an inevitable reality, as a done deal, or they’ve just become tired of hearing about it. Israel doesn’t have that privilege. We cannot tire. We will not tire. Israel will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”
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