Saturday 13 August 2022 03:49 AM Biden could ease pressure on Iran to rescue defunct nuclear deal trends now
Leaked details of negotiations with Iran suggest that the Biden administration is prepared to make significant concessions to revive the defunct nuclear deal -- even as shocking Iranian-inspired murder plots unfold on US soil.
This week, following days of indirect talks between the US and Iran in Vienna, EU officials put forward a 'final' proposal to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that former President Donald Trump pulled out of unilaterally four years ago.
Excerpts of a leaked draft of the text suggest that it would blunt American sanctions against Iran's Revolutionary Guards and clear a path for Tehran to avoid further scrutiny of its suspected atomic sites, Politico reported on Friday evening.
Though it is technically an EU proposal, European officials have worked closely with the US delegation in the negotiations, and are believed to have sign-off from Washington on the proposed terms.
The proposal seemed to signal President Joe Biden's willingness to make significant concessions -- in particular in regard to the Revolutionary Guard, which the US designates as a foreign terrorist organization.
Leaked details of negotiations with Iran suggest that the Biden administration could be prepared to make significant concessions to revive the defunct nuclear deal
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is seen above. Iran has already signaled a positive response to the EU proposal put forward this week, which would ease sanctions related to the Revolutionary Guard
Biden's Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley tweeted furious denials that the US would change its standards for enforcing sanctions
Iran has already responded to favorably to the deal, but it comes amid disturbing disturbing murder plots that appear to be inspired by Tehran.
On Friday author Salman Rushdie was stabbed in New York by an apparent Iranian sympathizer, and a Revolutionary Guard member was charged this week with plotting to assassinate former US officials.
Biden took office two years ago vowing to revive the defunct nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which put restrictions on Iran's nuclear programs in exchange for easing sanctions.
Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 and promised to negotiate a stronger agreement, but left office without meeting that goal.
Following Politico's report on the terms of the new EU proposal, Biden's Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley tweeted furious denials that the US would change its standards for enforcing sanctions.
'To be clear: We have not engaged in any negotiation about changing due diligence, know-your-customer, or other U.S. sanctions compliance standards for sanctions that would remain under a mutual return to full JCPOA implementation,' he wrote.
'Any report to the contrary is flat out wrong,' Malley added.
Author Salman Rushdie is taken on a stretcher to a helicopter for transport to a hospital after he was attacked during a lecture in upstate New York
Iranian deputy foreign minister Reza Najafi, left, and Iranian AEOI spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi, right, leave JCPOA negotiations on August 5
The sun sets behind the Palais Coburg in Vienna, Austria where closed-door negotiations have been underway for months to revive the JCPOA
However, Politico reported that the EU proposal would allow Europeans and other non-Americans to conduct business with
