[ad_1]
As US President Donald Trump’s term draws to a close, his outgoing administration intends to further pressure Iran by introducing new punitive sanctions against the American adversary.
On November 25, the top US envoy to Iran, Elliott Abrams, announced that Trump’s sanctions strategy would continue “for a further couple of months, until the end” of his presidency with the introduction of new punitive measures related to weapons, weapons of mass destruction and human rights.
Upon taking office, Trump was highly critical of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that was drawn up under the administration of his predecessor, Barack Obama.
In 2018, the United States abandoned the deal under which Tehran cut its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
While Trump tightened the screws on Tehran by introducing new punitive sanctions, and Iran responded by announcing that it was no longer bound by the limits of the uranium enrichment agreement, the agreement’s European signatories along with China and Russia have struggled to maintain the agreement.
President-elect Joe Biden, who will take office in January, has said he intends to return the United States to the deal if Iran resumes compliance.
During a virtual event held by the Berlin Institute, Abrams praised Biden’s foreign policy nominees and said he believed the new administration “has a great opportunity” to negotiate a new deal with Tehran that addresses regional and missile threats. from Iran.
But Abrams also warned Biden not to repeat what he sees as mistakes made by the Obama team and advised the incoming president to harness the influence he believes he has earned.
“If we discard the influence that we have, it would be really tragic and stupid. But if we use it, I think there is the possibility of a constructive agreement that addresses all these problems,” Abrams said.
Iran’s clerical rulers have said there will be no negotiations on Iran’s missile program or changes to its regional policy.
But during a televised cabinet meeting on November 25, Iranian President Hassan Rohani expressed his willingness to go back to the original deal that he helped make a reality.
While saying that “the new United States government will have to make up for the bad policies that were enacted over the last four years by the [outgoing] administration, “Rohani stated that” Iran and the United States can agree and declare that both parties are willing to return to the terms and conditions “in effect when Trump took office on January 20, 2017.
