7 hours agoUS and Iran are still far from nuclear negotiations
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)Donald Trump is a man in haste. In the few months he has been in office, the US president has sought and has failed to bring peace to Gaza and Ukraine. He bombed Yemen, launched a global trade war. Now Trump is turning his attention, as it is, to Iran. This has been [...]
This has always been on the president's business list. Iran is an unfinished task for him since his first term.
The issue remains the same as then: What can prevent Iran from seeking a nuclear weapon?
Iran denies any such ambitions. But other countries believe that the Islamic republic wants at least the capacity to build a nuclear head, a desire that some fear could spark an arms race or even a comprehensive war in the Middle East.
In 2015, Iran agreed to an agreement with the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China. It was called the Joint General Action Plan (JCPOA).
Under its provisions, Iran would limit its nuclear ambitions and allow international inspectors in exchange for lifting economic sanctions, it follows. Periscope.
But Trump pulled the US out of the deal in 2018, claiming it rewarded terrorism by financing Iran's representative militia like Hamas and Hezbollah. The US restored the sanctions.
Iran then ignored some of the limits of the deal and increasingly enriched nuclear fuel with uranium.
Analysts fear Iran may soon have enough uranium to produce a nuclear head.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimates Iran's 60% stock of rich uranium can produce about six bombs if enriched at the next and final level. Within days of his inauguration, Trump restored his previous policy of the so-called “maximum pressure” on Iran.
On February 4th, with his commercial brand pen, he signed a memorandum ordering the US Treasury to impose further sanctions on Iran and punish countries that violate existing sanctions, especially those buying Iranian oil.
Now the White House hopes to comply with that economic pressure with diplomacy. Last month, Trump sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. The president offered to start negotiations and requested an agreement within two months. Now he has agreed to direct discussions between US and Iranian officials in Oman at the weekend.
The US threat to Iran is clear: agree to an agreement or face military action.
“If the talks are not successful with Iran, I think Iran will be in great danger”, Trump said on Monday.
