IRAN, BIDEN NEGOTIATIONS ARE AT A DEAD POINT. ISRAEL PRESSES FOR AN INTERVENTION
One crisis ends and another one immediately opens. There is no peace for the United States of Joe Biden, which from Afghanistan onwards is experiencing one international crisis after another. And always staying on the ropes. As if the hot fronts of Ukraine and Taiwan were not enough, in which Washington is engaged against the two great international rivals, namely Russia and the People’s Republic of China, the Iranian situation is now returning to heat up. Biden had entered the White House with the clear intention of relaunching the diplomatic dialogue with Tehran, sent to the pulp by his predecessor Donald Trump together with the nuclear deal signed by Barack Obama.
However, the trumpeted nuclear negotiations in Vienna started off on the wrong foot. No progress and, indeed, a climate of renewed mistrust and skepticism that are affecting relations. The West accused Tehran of backtracking from the progress achieved last spring, when reformist Hassan Rohani was still president. In recent months, Iran has significantly intensified its enrichment of uranium, limiting access to the inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (Aiea).
And now there are also regional partners who are pressing. Starting with Israel. So much so that Biden has had to admit that he has ordered “preparations” to implement other measures against Iran if the diplomatic path fails to resolve the clash over the nuclear program. This was stated by the spokesman of the White House, Jen Psaki. “In light of the continued advancement of the Iranian nuclear program, the president has asked his team to prepare in case diplomacy fails. This requires preparations,” Psaki said, evoking “further sanctions” against Tehran. “We have proposed a diplomatic path, this path remains open”, added the spokeswoman, warning that, if necessary, “we are preparing to take a completely different path”.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the US is considering sending a delegation to the United Arab Emirates, a close trading partner of Iran, to discuss possible economic sanctions. Washington could strengthen oversight of the flow of trade between the two countries by sanctioning banks and other entities that fail to comply with existing sanctions. But there is also talk of the operational and strategic phase. During the meeting at the Pentagon between the Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin, for example, the possibility of carrying out joint military maneuvers that dissuade Iran from developing the atomic bomb was discussed.
USA, ON IRAN NOT ONLY ECONOMIC SANCTIONS BUT ALSO MILITARY EXERCISES
The Pentagon chief referred to a recent joint exercise in the Red Sea of the US, Israel, UAE and Bahrain and said that “we will continue to develop this regional security architecture through military cooperation, training and joint maneuvers. “. Gantz, for his part, expressed “full confidence in the commitment of the US to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons”. Meanwhile, Tehran tries to calm things down and Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s negotiator in Vienna, said he was ready to enter into serious negotiations. Indication immediately collected with hope by the European Union, which has always pushed for a new agreement with Iran, an important commercial partner and market with great potential. Enrique Mora, the European Union envoy in Vienna, said he had noted a “renewed determination on the need to work and reach an understanding that will bring the agreement back to life”. According to the diplomat, reaching an agreement quickly becomes “increasingly imperative”.
Meanwhile, however, the regional powers are also moving regardless of the availability of the United States and Europe. It is no coincidence that while Gantz met Austin, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met Egyptian President Abdelfatah al-Sisi. At the center of the talks during the visit, which testifies to a rapprochement between the two countries, there were above all the reconstruction in the Gaza Strip and the Iranian nuclear program. Lapid called the meeting “warm and open”, and thanked al-Sisi for his contribution to making relations with Israel “of historic proportions,” according to a statement from the Israeli foreign ministry. During the interview Lapid stressed with concern “Iran’s attempts to become a country with a military nuclear capability, as well as its continued use of terrorism, and the threat this poses to the Middle East”.
For the US there is a real risk of opening up a new hot front.
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