Exactly as Republican leadership has feared, Iran has zero plans to work with the current Biden administration. It should not come as any shock, considering Iran’s Supreme Leader publicly stated he hoped Biden would win the presidency during the election. Unfortunately, the fact that the world’s most prestigious dictator wanted Trump out of office was not a deterrent for Democrat voters.
Which led us here. “Iran rejected a European Union offer to arrange direct nuclear talks with the U.S., senior diplomats say, risking fresh tension between Tehran and Western capitals” reports Fox News. Two senior Western diplomats confirmed the rumor that Iran will not attend a meeting in Europe for now, “saying it wanted a guarantee first that the U.S. would lift some sanctions after the meeting.”
The European Union is attempting to revive the 2015 nuclear deal from which the Trump administration withdrew because Iran breached its nuclear capability limits. “Both the Biden administration and Iran say they want to restore the accord, but the two sides have been stymied by a debate on which should move first” according to Fox News.
In a terrifying game of chicken, “the U.S. had said it would attend the talks, which the EU had hoped to host in the coming days.” However, Washington “had refused to provide sanctions relief before face-to-face negotiations” to Iran’s disappointment.
Fox News reports that “Diplomats said Iran’s rejection didn’t kill off all hopes of direct negotiations in coming months and that Tehran’s move might be an attempt to gain leverage in future talks.” Still, “Iran’s move is likely to exacerbate tensions in the coming days” writes Fox News.
