Russia Says Biden Must Lift Sanctions to Save Iran Nuclear Deal

By Jonathan Brown

Russia said Tuesday it was up to Washington to take the first steps if US President Joe Biden wants to salvage the landmark Iran nuclear deal.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged Washington to lift sanctions on Tehran and save the historic agreement during his first talks with his Iranian counterpart since Biden's election victory raised hopes for the fate of the deal.

Lavrov said that Russia and Iran "share the same position" on the preservation of the 2015 accord, urging the United States to lift sanctions as a condition for Iran's return to compliance

"This in turn will provide the preconditions for the implementation of all requirements of the nuclear deal by the Islamic Republic of Iran," he told journalists.

The talks in Moscow came days after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged the United States to make the "fundamental choice" to end its sanctions regime and reverse the "failed policies" of the previous White House administration, which took a hawkish position on Tehran.

He cautioned that any efforts by Washington to extract additional concessions would ultimately end in failure.

"Iran wants the nuclear deal it made," Zarif wrote in an op-ed in the US foreign policy magazine Foreign Affairs last week.

He reiterated Iran's position while in the Russian capital Tuesday, saying that if Washington cancels its penalties on Tehran, then Iran will not restrict the work of inspectors and return to its obligations under the accord.

"We will resume their complete implementation," Zarif said. The agreement was largely left in tatters after former US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew and ordered officials to reimpose tough penalties against Tehran as part of his administration's "maximum pressure" policy. Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the deal was agreed between Iran, the United States, China, Russian, Britain, France and Germany in 2015.

'Businesslike and Pragmatic'

The deal offered sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Tehran's nuclear ambitions and guarantees it would not seek an atomic bomb. Iran maintains it has only pursued a civilian nuclear energy programme.

Immediately following the talks in Moscow, the French presidency on Tuesday said Iran must comply with the accord in order to see a US return, in direct contradiction to Russia's stance.

"If they are serious about negotiations and want to obtain a new commitmentfrom all participants in the JCPOA, first they must refrain from further provocations and second they must respect what they are no longer respecting" in terms of commitments, an official said on condition of anonymity.

Later Tuesday, Zarif tweeted: "It was the US that broke the deal—for no reason. It must remedy its wrong; then Iran will respond." A new wave of US sanctions has hit hard Iran's vital oil sector and its international banking ties, plunging the economy into a recession. Biden's pick for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said at a Senate confirmation hearing this month that Trump's policies had made Iran "more dangerous.”

While Blinken confirmed Biden's desire for Washington to return to the nuclear agreement, both the United States and Iran have said the other must return to full compliance before the accord is implemented again.

Since the US exit, Russia and European signatories had advocated efforts to save the accord and cautioned Iran against bolstering its nuclear enrichment. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in December called on Iran to take "maximum responsibility" after Tehran announced plans to install advanced centrifuges in the country's main nuclear enrichment plant.

The ministry earlier this month blamed Iran's departure from the nuclear deal on "systematic crude violations" by the United States. Moscow appears cautiously optimistic over the fate of the deal under the new White House administration after its arms negotiator Mikhail Ulyanov described Washington's position as "businesslike and pragmatic.”

But time is running out for signatories to restore the nuclear deal and bring all parties back on track.

Legislation passed by Iran's parliament in December requires Tehran to boost uranium enrichment and limit UN inspections if sanctions are not removed by February.

Photo: IRNA

Qatar Calls for GCC Talks with Iran

Qatar has called for countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to hold talks with Iran, the foreign minister said in an interview aired Tuesday, after Doha reconciled with its neighbors following a rift.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who has previously called for dialogue with Iran, told Bloomberg TV he was "hopeful that this would happen and we still believe this should happen.”

"This is also a desire that's shared by other Gulf Cooperation Council countries," he said.

It comes weeks after GCC hawks Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE re-established ties with Qatar after breaking them off in June 2017 partly over allegations that Qatar was too close to Iran. Doha denied the accusations.

Qatar and Iran share one of the world's largest gas fields and Doha maintains cordial relations with Tehran.

Doha is a close ally of Washington and has previously mediated between the US and Iran suggesting that Sheikh Mohammed's intervention could be timed as a signal to the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden. Biden is due to take office on Wednesday.

The current occupant of the White House, President Donald Trump, has pursued a policy of "maximum pressure" on Iran and pulled the United States out of a multilateral nuclear deal with it in 2018.

Tehran's arch-rival Riyadh, the dominant GCC power, has not publicly indicated any willingness to engage with Iran.

Instead Saudi Arabia insisted that this month's rapprochement with Qatar meant the Gulf family would be better able to combat "the threats posed by the Iranian regime's nuclear and ballistic missile programme".

"Qatar will facilitate negotiations, if asked by stakeholders, and will support whoever is chosen to do so," added Sheikh Mohammed.

Photo: Wikicommons

Iran's Rouhani Expects US to Resume Commitments Under Nuclear Deal

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday voiced confidence that President-elect Joe Biden will resume US commitments under the nuclear deal which Donald Trump pulled out of.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington soared during Trump's presidency, especially after 2018 when he withdrew Washington from the landmark nuclear deal and reimposed punishing unilateral sanctions on Iran.

Biden, who defeated Trump at the ballot box in November, has signalled a willingness to return to diplomacy with Iran

And Rouhani's government has repeatedly signalled its openness to the incoming US administration and called on Washington to return to the 2015 nuclear deal and lift sanctions.

"I have no doubt that the perseverance of the Iranian people during these past three years will force the new US government to succumb and resume its commitments," Rouhani said in televised remarks.

“The sanctions will be broken," he added.

His comments come a day after Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran should bolster itself to "nullify" the effects of the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, but should "not delay" in case they can be lifted.

Rouhani echoed Khamenei, saying time should not be wasted.

"We must act in order to nullify the effects of the sanctions... as the supreme leader has said."

"We should not wait, not even one hour, for the lifting of the sanctions. The government must do everything in its power to break the sanctions," Rouhani added.

He said Iran will do "everything possible to achieve" what he described as a "very important instruction" made by Khamenei.

Photo: IRNA

European Powers 'Welcome' Biden's Aim to Re-Enter JCPOA

The governments of France, Germany, and the UK “welcome the statements by President-elect Biden on the JCPOA and a diplomatic path to address wider concerns with Iran,” the trio said in a statement on Monday.

The three governments, dubbed the E3, also declared that they would “address Iran’s non-compliance within the framework of the JCPOA,” reiterating their support for Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The statement described the deal as "the best and currently the only way to monitor and constrain Iran's nuclear programme.”

The E3 also expressed concerns over plans by Iran to install advanced centrifuges at its main nuclear enrichment plant in Natanz.

The UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported last month that Iran had installed and begun operating advanced centrifuges at an underground section at Natanz.

"Iran's recent announcement to the IAEA that it intends to install an additional three cascades of advanced centrifuges at the Fuel Enrichment Plant in Natanz is contrary to the JCPOA and deeply worrying," the E3 said.

Under the terms of Iran's 2015 deal it is only meant to enrich uranium with a less sophisticated variety of centrifuges.

Since May last year Iran has taken steps to violate that limit and several others laid down in the deal in retaliation for US President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the accord in 2018 and subsequent reimposition of sanctions.

The three European powers said they had noted, "with great concern" a law passed by the Iranian parliament that would expand Iran's nuclear programme and limit the IAEA's monitoring access, saying this too would be "incompatible with the JCPOA and Iran's wider nuclear commitments".

The bill "for the lifting of sanctions and protection of the Iranian people's interests" was approved by the powerful Guardian Council on Wednesday but has to be signed by President Hassan Rouhani to become law.

Rouhani, whose government has signalled a readiness to engage with US President-elect Joe Biden, called the bill "detrimental to the course of diplomatic activities.”

The three European governments said that if Iran was serious about wanting to return to diplomacy with the incoming US administration, it had to reverse the bill and the installation of the centrifuges.

Photo: IRNA

Rouhani Calls for Return to Pre-Trump US-Iran Situation

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday invited US President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration to restore the "situation that prevailed" before Donald Trump came to power.

"Iran and the US can both decide and declare that they will return to the situation that prevailed until January 20, 2017," Rouhani told his cabinet, referring to the date when the outgoing US president assumed office.

“If there is such a will among the future American leaders, I think that it will be very easy to resolve" numerous problems, Rouhani said.

Iran and the US do not have direct diplomatic ties, but a nuclear deal agreed between Tehran, Washington and other world powers in 2015—negotiated when Barack Obama was in the White House, with Biden as his deputy—saw bilateral tensions dissipate to the lowest level in decades.

Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from that pact in May 2018 and launched a "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran with sanctions that plunged its economy into a deep recession.

The two countries have twice come to the brink of war since mid-2019.

The Iranian government's policy is based on "respect for commitments against respect for commitments... (and) respect in exchange for respect," Rouhani said, noting an opportunity to "completely change the course" of events of the last four years.

Since Biden's victory in the November 3 US presidential election, Rouhani has repeatedly signaled his openness to the incoming US administration, although Iran's supreme leader has cautioned against hopes of an opening with the West.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Says to Meet Nuclear Commitments if Biden Lifts Sanctions

By Amir Havasi with Shaun Tandon

Iran said Wednesday it would "automatically" return to its nuclear commitments if US President-elect Joe Biden lifts sanctions, as the outgoing administration doubled down with more pressure.

Biden has promised a return to diplomacy with Iran after four hawkish years under Donald Trump, who withdrew from a denuclearisation accord and slapped sweeping sanctions.

Tehran again meeting its commitments "can be done automatically and needs no conditions or even negotiations," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in comments published in the state-run Iran daily.

Zarif described Biden as a "foreign affairs veteran" whom he has known for 30 years. Once in the White House, Biden could "lift all of these (sanctions) with three executive orders," Zarif argued.

If Biden's administration does so, Iran's return to nuclear commitments will be "quick", the minister added.
Washington's return to the deal, however, could wait, Zarif added.

“The next stage that will need negotiating is America's return... which is not a priority," he said, adding that "the first priority is America ending its law-breaking".

President Hassan Rouhani meanwhile called the Trump administration "unruly,” and said a Biden administration could "bring back the atmosphere" that prevailed in 2015 at the time of the nuclear deal, negotiated by Barack Obama's administration in which Biden was vice president.

The accord offered Tehran relief from international sanctions in exchange for guarantees, verified by the United Nations, that its nuclear program has no military aims.

Trump Team Doubles Down

Trump, who has not accepted defeat in the November 3 election, is moving to keep ramping up pressure on Iran, hoping to make it more difficult politically and legally for Biden to ease sanctions.

In the latest moves, the Treasury Department said it was freezing any US interests of the Foundation of the Oppressed, officially a charitable organisation for the poor that has interests across the Iranian economy.

The Treasury described the foundation as a "multibillion-dollar economic empire" and "key patronage network" for Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that operates without government oversight.

Also hit by sanctions was Iran's minister for intelligence and security, Mahmoud Alavi, on human rights grounds.

Outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in an indirect response to Zarif as he arrived in US ally Israel, vowed to keep imposing "painful consequences".

"The Iranian regime seeks a repeat of the failed experiment that lifted sanctions and shipped them huge amounts of cash in exchange for modest nuclear limitations," he said.

"This is indeed troubling, but even more disturbing is the notion that the United States should fall victim to this nuclear extortion and abandon our sanctions."

Iran, which denies it is seeking to build a nuclear bomb, has since May 2019 gradually suspended most of its key obligations under the agreement, including limits to the production and stockpiling of low-enriched uranium.

The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday Iran had begun operating advanced centrifuges at an underground section of its primary nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz.

Under Iran's deal with world powers, it is only meant to enrich uranium with a less sophisticated variety of centrifuges.

In its report last week the IAEA said Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium now stood at over 12 times the limit in the 2015 accord.

The New York Times reported Monday that Trump had last week asked top aides about the possibility of striking Iran's nuclear facilities.

Senior officials reportedly "dissuaded the president from moving ahead with a military strike," warning him such an attack could escalate into a broader conflict in the last weeks of his presidency

Iran argues it has moved away from its commitments because of the sanctions and the inability of the other parties—Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia—to provide it with the deal's promised economic benefits.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Vows to Take 'Any Opportunity' to Lift US Sanctions

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani vowed Wednesday to take "any opportunity" to lift US sanctions against Tehran, following President Donald Trump's defeat by Democratic election rival Joe Biden.

While the outgoing Trump has declared Iran an arch-foe and sought to isolate it globally, president-elect Biden has proposed to offer Iran a "credible path back to diplomacy".

"Our aim is to lift the pressure of sanctions from the shoulders of our people," Rouhani said in televised remarks during a weekly cabinet meeting.

"Wherever this favourable opportunity arises we will act on our responsibilities. No one should miss any opportunity."

"National security and national interests are not factional and partisan issues," Rouhani added, after conservatives blasted his reformist and moderate coalition for its "over-excitement" for re-engagement with the United States.

Decades-old tensions between Tehran and Washington escalated after Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from a landmark Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed, then reinforced, crippling sanctions.

Those moves torpedoed the deal, Rouhani's signature foreign policy achievement, and bolstered conservatives who argue that the US cannot be trusted.

The measures have all but deprived Iran of vital oil revenues and isolated its banks, triggering a harsh recession and slashing the value of the rial. Rouhani acknowledged Biden's conciliatory remarks during his campaign but said Tehran was prepared for sanctions to remain in place.

"They can choose a new path. And if they do not want to, it is their choice," he told the cabinet.

He noted that his administration had devised its policies on the assumption Trump would stay in office.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last week that the result of the US election would have "no effect" on Tehran's policies towards Washington.

Photo: IRNA

Khamenei Says Outcome of US Vote Will Not Affect Iran's Policies

The US presidential election will have "no effect" on Tehran's policies towards Washington, Iran's supreme leader said Tuesday.

"On the subject of the United States, we follow a sensible, calculated policy (which) cannot be affected by changes of personnel" in Washington, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech marking the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Mohammed.

"Today is election day in the United States. Things may happen but they do not concern us," he said. "Our policies are well defined and the coming and going of (presidents) will have no effect" on them.

American voters headed to the polls on Tuesday in a vote that coincides with the anniversary of the 1979 storming by radical students of the US embassy in Tehran.

The ensuing crisis lasted 444 days until 52 hostages were finally released, and has poisoned relations between the two countries to this day.

Iran and the US have come close to armed conflict twice since June 2019, following the Trump administration's withdrawal the previous year from a multilateral deal on the Iranian nuclear programme.

Trump has engaged in a policy of "maximum pressure" against Tehran, reimposing harsh sanctions that have plunged the Iranian economy into a severe recession.

Tehran has responded by rolling back its commitments under the 2015 accord.

Joe Biden, Trump's challenger, who is leading in polls, favours diplomacy with Iran and has backed the nuclear accord negotiated while he was vice president under Barack Obama.

Photo: IRNA

In Tehran, White House Race is Talk of Town

By Ahmad Parhizi

For Iran, struggling from sanctions imposed under Washington's policy of "maximum pressure", the US presidential race raises hope of change—but also fears that life could get even worse.

“The general view is that the result of this presidential election is crucial for the population,” said Zeinab Esmaili, who covers foreign affairs for the Iranian reformist newspaper Shargh.

Tehran and Washington, long-time enemies, have not maintained diplomatic relations for decades.

But tensions have soared under US President Donald Trump, who pulled out of a nuclear accord negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama—as well as other nations—and placed sweeping sanctions on the country.

Iranians have grown used to having their day-to-day lives hit hard by foreign policy decisions taken far away in the US.

“It is natural for us to talk about the American elections,” said Mohammad Amin Naqibzadeh, a 28-year-old geopolitics student.

In May 2018, Trump withdrew from a landmark deal that gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for UN-verified guarantees that it is not seeking nuclear weapons.

The subsequent waves of sanctions on Iran have crippled its economy.

International Arrogance

So along with the US election, two topics dominate conversation in Tehran: the rise in prices and the declining exchange rate of the Iranian rial.

Both crises are linked deeply to US relations with Tehran.

Iran has also been battered by the coronavirus pandemic, with related restrictions adding to the Islamic republic’s economic woes.

The value of its currency has slumped dramatically.

The rial has lost nearly 90 percent of its value against the dollar in the past three years, fueling galloping inflation.

Iran regularly denounces as “lies” Washington’s claims that the sanctions do not affect ordinary citizens.

Officially, the authorities have a clear view on who they support: neither candidate.

Both Trump and Democratic White House hopeful Joe Biden are two sides of the same coin of Washington’s “international arrogance”.

For Iran’s leaders, Washington is often dubbed the “Great Satan”, or simply the “enemy”.

But on Tehran’s streets, many residents say they believe they would be better off with Biden.

If Trump is re-elected, people expect to get more of the same “maximum pressure” policy and crushing sanctions.

In September, Biden wrote that he “will offer Tehran a credible path back to diplomacy”.

Some hope that could mean the potential return of the US to the UN nuclear agreement on Iran — a deal struck while Biden was Obama’s vice-president.

“There is therefore hope he will return to this agreement,” said Mohammad Ali Kiani, a 28-year-old politics student.

“In general, people think that a victory for Biden… would be better for Iran,” said Esmaili, the journalist for Shargh.

But not all are convinced.

“People are hoping for an improvement in their economic situation,” said journalist Maziar Khosravi.

“It does not matter to them who is in the White House.”

Others seem to expect that Trump will win a second term—and that for them, life will grow worse.

“They see it as very likely that Trump will start a second term and that… the rise in prices and the devaluation of the rial will continue,” Esmaili said.

‘Illusion’

The news that Trump tested positive for the coronavirus sparked several conspiracy theories on Iranian social media—as well as jokes linking the state of his health to the exchange rate.

Officially, the authorities in Iran support neither President Donald Trump nor his challenger Joe Biden in the US election, but many people on Tehran’s streets say they believe they’ll be better off with Biden© AFP ATTA KENARE

If Trump wins a second term, the continuation of his hardline policies will further impact politics in Iran.

“A radical American approach also radicalises (politics) in Iran,” said reformist economist Saeed Leylaz.

Leylaz wants to believe that if Biden won, he would “seriously change US policy towards Iran”.

But others are skeptical, and say a Biden victory would unlikely change much — not least because there are only five months between the January 20 inauguration of the US winner, and Iran’s own presidential elections on June 18.

Hamidreza Taraqi, a senior official in the conservative alliance which won legislative elections in February, is opposed to any discussion with Washington.

He pointed out that the decades-long political conflict between Tehran and Washington has already “tested both Democrats and Republicans”, and calls the idea of change under Biden an “illusion”.

“Neither have embarked on a path that will resolve the problems” of Iran, he said.

Photo: IRNA

Biden Urges Iran Sanctions Relief Over Virus

Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden called Thursday for the United States to ease sanctions on Iran to reduce suffering as the country reels from the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden said the United States should set up a dedicated channel for banks and other companies to operate in Iran and issue licenses for the sale of pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

The former vice president also called for guarantees to aid groups that they will not be penalized for operating in Iran -- and said Tehran should reciprocate by freeing detained Americans.

Biden said that President Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran, which includes sweeping sanctions, had "badly backfired" by encouraging aggression from the clerical regime.

"It makes no sense, in a global health crisis, to compound that failure with cruelty by inhibiting access to needed humanitarian assistance," Biden said in a statement.

"Artificially limiting the flow of international humanitarian assistance to pursue a political point will not only allow the Iranian government to deflect responsibility for its own botched response, it will increase the threat this virus poses to the American people, now and in the future," he said.

His appeal came a day after his rival for the nomination, Bernie Sanders, led left-leaning lawmakers in calling for a lifting of US sanctions on Iran, where more than 3,100 people have died from COVID-19.

Biden had faced criticism from Sanders supporters by hesitating in a television interview on Sunday from saying if he favored easing sanctions on Iran.

The Trump administration has proposed US aid to Iran but offered few details and has kept expanding sanctions.

The administration insists it has never targeted humanitarian goods, but few banks or exporters outside of China are willing to risk US sanctions by doing business in Iran.

Trump withdrew from an accord sealed by former president Barack Obama's administration, in which Biden was vice president, that promised sanctions relief to Iran in return for denuclearization.

Photo: Wikicommons