Fears Arise Biden May Lift Iran Sanctions before it Commits to Nuclear Deal

US President-elect Joe Biden. (Reuters)
US President-elect Joe Biden. (Reuters)
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Fears Arise Biden May Lift Iran Sanctions before it Commits to Nuclear Deal

US President-elect Joe Biden. (Reuters)
US President-elect Joe Biden. (Reuters)

Concerns have been rising in the United States that President-elect Joe Biden may lift economic sanctions off Iran before it returns to the 2015 nuclear deal and stops its violations of the pact, known as the JCPOA.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slammed on Saturday Tehran’s threat to expel International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, describing it as a form of extortion of the international community and threat to regional security.

Iran will expel United Nations nuclear watchdog inspectors unless US sanctions are lifted by a Feb. 21 deadline set by the hardline-dominated parliament, a lawmaker said on Saturday.

Parliament passed a law in November that obliges the government to halt inspections of its nuclear sites by the IAEA and step up uranium enrichment beyond the limit set under the nuclear deal if sanctions are not eased.

Iran’s Guardian Council watchdog body approved the law on Dec. 2 and the government has said it will implement it.

“According to the law, if the Americans do not lift financial, banking and oil sanctions by Feb. 21, we will definitely expel the IAEA inspectors from the country and will definitely end the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol,” said parliamentarian Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani.

“Iran’s threat goes much further than violating the JCPOA. Iran has a legal treaty obligation to allow IAEA inspector access pursuant to Iran’s NPT-required safeguards agreement. Violating those obligations would thus go beyond Iran’s past actions inconsistent with its JCPOA nuclear commitments,” Pompeo said in a statement.

“Every nation, not only the United States, will attach great importance to Iran’s compliance with these obligations. Nuclear brinksmanship will not strengthen Iran’s position, but instead lead to further isolation and pressure,” he warned.

“This threat follows on the heels of the Iranian regime announcing it has resumed 20% uranium enrichment at Fordow, the fortified, underground facility Iran originally constructed in secret, further breaching its nuclear pact. The world’s top sponsor of terrorism should not be allowed to enrich uranium at any level,” Pompeo urged.

“The United States fully supports the IAEA’s continued professional and independent verification and monitoring of Iran’s nuclear program. Iran’s expulsion of international inspectors must be met by universal condemnation,” he demanded.

Iran last week said it had resumed 20% uranium enrichment at an underground nuclear facility, breaching the nuclear pact with major powers and possibly complicating efforts by Biden to rejoin the deal.

Iran began violating the accord in 2019 in response to President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from it in 2018 and the reimposition of US sanctions that had been lifted under the deal. Tehran often says it can quickly reverse its breaches if Washington’s sanctions are removed.

Meanwhile, Biden is being heavily criticized for his plan to return to the nuclear deal.

He had previously said that he would seek to reach a new agreement based on the 2015 accord. The new deal would tighten and prolong nuclear restrictions, as well as address Tehran’s missile program. He had also pledged to tackle Iran’s human rights record and destabilizing regional activity that are “threatening our friends and partners in the region.”

The president-elect, however, believes that the only way to hold negotiations on new stipulations first demands a return to the old nuclear pact.

Iran’s recent declaration on increasing its nuclear enrichment, threat to expel IAEA inspectors and capture of a South Korean vessel and escalation of harassment in the Gulf and incitement of its militias in Iraq are all part of efforts to pressure Biden to yield to its demands to return to the accord, which it seems certain he will do.

Observers believe that Biden’s agreement to ease sanctions that are stifling its regime will be a capitulation to its blackmail and abandonment of Washington’s most important form of pressure. The capitulation will prevent Biden from achieving his declared goal of an improved long-term nuclear deal.

Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Sunday that the nuclear deal “was not sacred to us.”

“It was accepted by Iran on the condition that sanctions would be lifted,” he remarked.

Therefore, according to the official, the return of the United States to the JCPOA is “not important” for Iran, but “the actual lifting of sanctions is.”

He said that Iran will consider the sanctions lifted when it can sell its oil, use its revenue through official banking mechanisms to meet the people’s demands and Iranian businessmen are able to do business with foreign partners.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Friday Tehran was in no rush for the United States to rejoin a nuclear deal, but that sanctions must be lifted immediately.

“We are not insisting nor in a hurry for the US to return to the deal,” Khamenei said. “But what is logical is our demand, is the lifting of the sanctions. These brutal sanctions must be lifted immediately.”

In a report last week, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a pro-Trump conservative institution, said: “Five years ago, nearly every Republican in the US Congress—and many leading Democrats including Senators Charles Schumer, Bob Menendez and Joe Manchin—opposed the Iran deal for good reasons.”

“The agreement set expiration dates on key restrictions, ruled out on-demand inspections, and let Iran maintain its nuclear enrichment capabilities. It didn’t address the regime’s accelerating missile program, gave Tehran the financial resources to sponsor regional aggression and terrorism, and ignored its egregious abuse of human rights,” it added.

“The obvious question, then, is this: If Obama contends US sanctions pressure was necessary to produce an agreement as deeply flawed as the Iran nuclear deal, how could Biden ever negotiate far more restrictions on Iran with far less economic leverage?” it wondered.



Snapback Threat Deepens Iran-West Tensions Amid Warnings and Diplomatic Standoff

Iranians walk past a propaganda mural in Tehran depicting a figure from Persian mythology launching missiles, Wednesday (EPA)
Iranians walk past a propaganda mural in Tehran depicting a figure from Persian mythology launching missiles, Wednesday (EPA)
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Snapback Threat Deepens Iran-West Tensions Amid Warnings and Diplomatic Standoff

Iranians walk past a propaganda mural in Tehran depicting a figure from Persian mythology launching missiles, Wednesday (EPA)
Iranians walk past a propaganda mural in Tehran depicting a figure from Persian mythology launching missiles, Wednesday (EPA)

Tensions between Iran and Western powers have escalated sharply, as the European trio - Britain, France, and Germany - hinted at reactivating the “snapback” mechanism that would automatically reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran. The looming decision has sparked strong reactions from Tehran, with Iranian officials warning of potential retaliatory actions that may come as a surprise to some European nations.

According to diplomatic sources cited by the Associated Press, the foreign ministers of the European trio agreed during a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this week to reinstate UN sanctions on Iran by the end of August, should no substantial progress be made on the nuclear deal.

The snapback mechanism, part of the 2015 nuclear agreement, allows any signatory to reinstate international sanctions if Iran fails to uphold its commitments. The clause expires on October 18, making this summer a crucial period for decisive action.

In Tehran, the response was swift and stern. Iranian MP Ebrahim Azizi, head of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, denounced the European move as “a hostile political action.”

He stressed that Iran has “multiple options” and would not hesitate to use them if provoked. “The West must refrain from such a step,” Azizi warned, “and if they go ahead with it, our countermeasures may be unexpected for some Europeans.”

Conservative Iranian newspaper Kayhan went even further, calling for legislation to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), framing it as a necessary deterrent step.

Earlier this month, Iran’s parliament passed a law to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), requiring all inspection requests to be coordinated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

This move came in response to US airstrikes on Iran’s underground Fordow uranium enrichment site, as well as facilities in Isfahan and Natanz, during a 12-day war initiated by Israel on June 13.

Despite the growing tensions, some Iranian figures are urging a return to diplomacy. Mohammad Sadr, a veteran diplomat and member of the Expediency Council, stressed the need for “serious and urgent” negotiations with the European trio.

“Given the limited time before snapback is activated, Iran must work to create conditions that prevent Europe from taking that route,” Sadr said in a media interview.

The UK, France, and Germany are all original signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal, from which US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018, arguing it was too lenient on Tehran.

Under the agreement, sanctions were lifted in exchange for strict limits on Iran’s nuclear program. The snapback clause allows for the automatic reimposition of sanctions if Iran is found to be non-compliant.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated on Tuesday that the trio is now in a position to justify triggering the snapback. Meanwhile, the ambassadors of the three nations met at the German UN mission this week to discuss the situation. Though no specific conditions were disclosed, the discussions signaled growing impatience with Tehran.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar urged his German and French counterparts to activate the snapback during a meeting on the sidelines of the EU ministerial council in Brussels on Tuesday.

The newspaper reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also discussed the issue with multiple world leaders. A senior Israeli official said: “There are no longer valid excuses to delay reimposing sanctions.”

He added that Iran’s previous threats to enrich uranium to 90% are now considered irrelevant. “Even the US now supports the snapback, and the Europeans are inclined to follow suit.”