By Nevin Brown
December 17, 202:
Information Clearing House
-- "Sputnik"
-- The United States is fully
prepared to lift those sanctions against Iran that
are inconsistent with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action (JCPOA), a senior administration
official confirmed on Tuesday.
The lifting of sanctions would effectively allow
Iran to receive the economic benefits of the nuclear
deal that were crucial in securing the agreement in
2015. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the
United Nations, remarked during a UN Security
meeting that Washington was ready to do away with
some of the sanctions.
Moments after Thomas-Greenfield's remarks, Iran's
Permanent Representative to the United Nations Majid
Takht Ravanchi said in a statement that Tehran needs
assurances on sanctions in order for to talks to
progress on the resumption of the 2015 deal.
The Biden administration believes the JCPOA is
the best route to limit Iran's ability to acquire a
nuclear weapon. Negotiations over the deal began in
2013 and lasted 18 months before being signed in
2015. US President Joe Biden served as vice
president in the Obama administration during the
initial negotiations. The 15-year agreement set
parameters and allowed outside oversight on Iran's
nuclear programme. As part of the agreement, the
United States and the European Union lifted economic
sanctions and unfroze $100 billion in Iranian assets
in overseas banks. The agreement allowed for
snap-back sanctions in the event Iran deviated from
the agreed upon constraints on their nuclear
program.
Reader financed- No
Advertising - No Government Grants -
No Algorithm - This
Is Independent Media
Under the Trump administration, the United States
unilaterally left the agreement in 2018 and renewed
sanctions against Iran after accusing the nation of
violating the predetermined requirements. The US
withdrawal put immediate economic pressure on Iran,
which prompted their request for European assistance
to mitigate the effects of US sanctions. Iran, due
to the US withdrawal, slowly dropped the
restrictions on its commitments after the Trump
administration began a "maximum pressure" campaign
in a bid to force Iran to bend to its wishes. Under
the Biden administration, hopes have remained high
that tensions between the two nations would ease,
however, that has not been the case.
Officials Reportedly Accelerating Talks in Event
Vienna Negotiations FailWhile there is hope that the
JCPOA will regain momentum once economic sanctions
are lifted against Iran, American and European
officials are still mapping out a potential back-up
plan in the event that talks in Vienna prove
fruitless.Earlier on Tuesday, sources revealed to
Kann correspondent Amichai Stein that next-step
discussions were becoming "more serious" in case the
talks fall apart."The officials added that the talks
are mainly on snapback of sanctions and the
diplomatic manner the countries should take, and the
need for a 'unified stance' against Iran if the
talks fail", the reporter detailed.Negotiators have
been holding talks in Vienna for months with the
goal of all parties coming to terms on resuming the
2015 deal, but the discussion has been far from easy
going. Earlier, the US announced that it had called
off the latest round of talks after officials
concluded that Iranian officials were not being
"serious" and had rescinded all previous
concessions. After a months-long stall earlier this
year, talks in Vienna resumed on November 29th.
Registration is necessary to post comments.
We ask only that you do not use obscene or offensive
language. Please be respectful of others.
