Iran Waits For Biden to Make the First Diplomatic Move

Iran’s UN Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi (File photo: AFP)
Iran’s UN Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi (File photo: AFP)
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Iran Waits For Biden to Make the First Diplomatic Move

Iran’s UN Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi (File photo: AFP)
Iran’s UN Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi (File photo: AFP)

Iran has no plans to hold talks with the new US administration and is waiting for President Joe Biden to take the first step to lift sanctions and return to the nuclear agreement, Tehran's UN ambassador told NBC News.

In his first interview since Biden was sworn in last week, Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi announced that Iran has not spoken to the new administration yet.

In 2018, former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed between Iran and international powers to limit Tehran’s nuclear program in return for easing economic sanctions.

Iran denied reports about negotiations between a team led by Takht Ravanchi and the US administration, however, several media leaks reported that the mediation channels between Washington and Tehran have been reactivated.

Washington is not in a hurry to start negotiations with Tehran, and its return to the nuclear agreement is conditioned with an agreement on Iran’s missile activities and its destabilizing role in the region.

Many political circles and researchers affiliated with the Democratic party refrain from commenting on the issue of Biden's approach towards Tehran.

Meanwhile, senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) Richard Goldberg said that statements of Biden administration officials are now subject to analysis.

Goldberg, who previously served as an advisor on Iran in the Trump administration, told Asharq Al-Awsat that officials in the Biden administration are debating the return to the JCPOA first, and later they might seek a new agreement that addresses other issues."

The advisor believes it would be a strategic mistake because the United States would lose influence in advance before forcing the Iranians to address other matters.

He added that at the same time, Antony Blinken, who is nominated for the position of the secretary of state, announced that he does not believe it is in Washington’s national security interest to lift sanctions targeting Iran's central bank, the national oil company, financial sector, and energy sector.

Blinken believes that sanctions should remain imposed on the central bank and oil company because of their involvement in financing terrorism, and both entities are among the institutions that would benefit from the JCPOA.



Russia’s Top Diplomat Praises Trump’s Views on Ukraine Conflict

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov smiles during his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov smiles during his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)
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Russia’s Top Diplomat Praises Trump’s Views on Ukraine Conflict

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov smiles during his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov smiles during his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)

Russia’s top diplomat said Tuesday that Moscow is open for talks with President-elect Donald Trump and praised him for pointing to NATO's plan to embrace Ukraine as a root cause of the nearly 3-year-old conflict.

Any prospective peace talks should involve broader arrangements for security in Europe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at his annual news conference, while adding that Moscow is open to discussing security guarantees for Kyiv.

Lavrov specifically praised Trump's comments earlier this month in which he said that NATO’s plans to open its doors to Ukraine had led to the hostilities.

Trump said Russia had it "written in stone" that Ukraine's membership in NATO should never be allowed, but the Biden administration had sought to expand the military alliance to Russia's doorstep. Trump added that, "I could understand their feelings about that."

Trump's comments echoed Moscow’s rhetoric which has described its "special military operation" in Ukraine launched in February 2022 as a response to planned NATO membership for Kyiv and an effort to protect Russian speakers. Ukraine and its allies have denounced Russia's action as an unprovoked act of aggression.

"NATO did exactly what it had promised not to do, and Trump said that," Lavrov said. "It marked the first such candid acknowledgement not only from a US but any Western leader that NATO had lied when they signed numerous documents. They were used as a cover while NATO has expanded to our borders in violation of the agreements."

The West has dismissed that assessment. Before the conflict, Russia had demanded a legal guarantee that Ukraine be denied NATO entry, knowing the alliance has never excluded potential membership for any European country but had no immediate plan to start Ukraine down that road. Russia said NATO expansion would undermine its security, but Washington and its allies argued the alliance didn’t threaten Moscow

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged his Western allies to invite Kyiv to join NATO, or, at the very least, offer comprehensive security guarantees that would prevent any future Russian attacks. The alliance’s 32 member countries say Ukraine will join one day, but not until the fighting ends.

Trump has reaffirmed his intention to broker peace in Ukraine, declaring earlier this month that "Putin wants to meet" and that such a meeting is being set up. In the past, he has criticized US military aid for Ukraine and even vowed to end the conflict in a single day if elected.

Lavrov emphasized that Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly declared his openness for talks with Trump, adding that Moscow looks forward to hearing Trump’s view on Ukraine after he takes office.

Lavrov also praised comments by Trump's pick for national security adviser, Mike Waltz, who said Sunday it's unrealistic to expect that Ukraine could drive Russian forces "from every inch of Ukrainian soil."

"The very fact that people have increasingly started to mention the realities on the ground deserves welcome," Lavrov said during his annual news conference un Moscow.

In its final days, the Biden administration is providing Kyiv with as much military support as it can, aiming to put Ukraine in the strongest position possible for any future negotiations. The US also introduced new sanctions on Russia's oil industry.

Lavrov described those efforts as an attempt by the Biden administration to "slam the door" and leave a difficult legacy for Trump. "The Democrats have a way of screwing things up for the incoming administration," he said.

He emphasized that any prospective peace talks must address Russia's security concerns and reflect a broad European security environment.

"Threats on the western flank, on our western borders, must be eliminated as one of the main reasons (of the conflict)," he said. "They can probably be eliminated only in the context of some broader agreements."

He added that Moscow is also open to discuss security guarantees for Kyiv, "for the country, which is now called Ukraine."

Lavrov was asked about Trump's comments in which he wouldn't rule out using force or economic pressure to make Greenland — a semiautonomous territory of Denmark — a part of the United States.

Lavrov emphasized that the people of Greenland must be asked what they want.

"For a start, it's necessary to listen to the Greenlanders," Lavrov said, noting that they have the right for self-determination if they believe that their interests aren't duly represented by Denmark.