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.



India’s Navy Launches Submarine, Warships to Guard against China’s Presence in Indian Ocean

A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
TT

India’s Navy Launches Submarine, Warships to Guard against China’s Presence in Indian Ocean

A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)

India's navy on Wednesday simultaneously launched a submarine, a destroyer and a frigate built at a state-run shipyard, underscoring the importance of protecting the Indian Ocean region through which 95% of the country's trade moves amid a strong Chinese presence.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Atlantic Ocean’s importance has shifted to the Indian Ocean region, which is becoming a center of international power rivalry.

“India is giving the biggest importance to making its navy powerful to protect its interests,” he said.

“The commissioning of three major naval combatants marks a significant leap forward in realizing India’s vision of becoming a global leader in defense manufacturing and maritime security,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while commissioning the vessels at the state-run Mazagon dockyard in Mumbai.

The situation in the Indian Ocean region is challenging with the Chinese navy, India’s main rival, growing exponentially, said Rahul Bedi, a defense analyst.

Bedi said that the INS Vagsheer submarine, the sixth among a French license-built Kalvari (Scorpene)-class conventional diesel-electric submarines, is aimed at replacing aging Indian underwater platforms and plugging serious capability gaps in existing ones. India now has a total of 16 submarines.

The P75 Scorpene submarine project represents India’s growing expertise in submarine construction in collaboration with the Naval Group of France, Bedi said.

India’s defense ministry is expected to conclude a deal for three additional Scorpene submarines to be built in India during Modi’s likely visit to Paris next month to attend the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

However, the first of these boats, according to the Indian navy, is only likely to be commissioned by 2031.

India commissioned its first home-built aircraft carrier in 2022 to counter regional rival China’s much more extensive and growing fleet and expand its indigenous shipbuilding capabilities.

The INS Vikrant, whose name is a Sanskrit word for “powerful” or “courageous,” is India’s second operational aircraft carrier. It joins the Soviet-era INS Vikramaditya, which India purchased from Russia in 2004 to defend the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal.