Biden reaffirmed his commitment to preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, and said the US “is ready to turn to other options”…reports Asian Lite News
The US is prepared to turn to alternative avenues if diplomacy fails to solve the crisis surrounding Iran’s nuclear program, President Joe Biden said.
Speaking after meeting with new Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in Washington, Biden reaffirmed his commitment to preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, and said the US “is ready to turn to other options” if the diplomatic impasse cannot be overcome.
The US withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, in 2018, under Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, who called the deal “defective.”
US President Joe Biden.(photoInstagram)
Talks to resurrect the JCPOA have been ongoing in Vienna, with Biden saying he is prepared to lift sanctions on Tehran if it stops breaching its commitments to the deal.
“We’re putting diplomacy first and see where that takes us. But if diplomacy fails, we’re ready to turn to other options,” Biden told reporters after the 50-minute meeting.
Tehran, according to Tel Aviv, is now enriching uranium at close to weapons-grade level, with the Israeli Defense Ministry saying Iran is just two months away from acquiring enough nuclear material to build a bomb.
Bennett praised Biden’s stance, saying: “I was happy to hear your clear words that Iran will never be able to acquire a nuclear weapon, and that you emphasize that you will try the diplomatic route, but there’s other options if that doesn’t work out.”
Bennett, whose predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu was frequently at odds with former US President Barack Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president, added that he looks forward to working with Biden “now and many years ahead.”
With oil and gas as a major spur of the India-Iran relations, Chegeni proposed that Iran had earmarked and opened Bandar-e-Jask — a port on the mouth of the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz — for major Indian and Chinese energy investments, reports Atul Aneja
The expected revival of the nuclear deal between Iran and the western powers is set to yield unexpected opportunities for India, including access to the Iranian port of Jask as base for strategic oil reserves and a new “land-and-sea” gas pipeline.
Speaking at a webinar on Monday, Iran’s ambassador to India, Ali Chegeni anticipated that it was only a matter of time before sanctions against Iran were lifted, following an early revival of an updated Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
In fact, negotiations in Vienna on the JCPOA in its new avatar could wrap up within three weeks, former Iranian Ambassador Seyed H. Mousavian, former Iranian ambassador to Germany, added during a brainstorming exercise on the future of India-Iran relation hosted by the Kolkata based Tillotama Foundation. Once the JCPOA is revived India will and no longer constrained by western sanctions in its dealings with Tehran.
With oil and gas as a major spur of the India-Iran relations, Chegeni proposed that Iran had earmarked and opened Bandar-e-Jask — a port on the mouth of the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz — for major Indian and Chinese energy investments. He pointed out that India could build its strategic oil reserves at this port. Without going into details that India had a narrow window on investing in the construction of land- and- sea pipeline that originated from Bandar-e-Jask.
“Having huge oil storage capacity available, with just a short direct sea journey away from India, means that it is time to realize construction of the Iran-India oil and gas pipeline. India also can use Jask port facilities to store its strategic crude oil reserve to meet emergency needs in case of disruptions in supply,” he observed.
So far, India has rejected the construction of the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline, citing economic and security considerations. Another idea that has been in play is the construction of a gas pipeline that originates in Iran and via Oman, enters India’s west coast through an undersea gas pipeline.
Analysts point out that a strategic energy pipeline can truly anchor the India-Iran relationship, whose cultural roots can be traced to antiquity.
Without naming them, Chegeni said that several countries were in the queue to join a budding quadrilateral arrangement among India, Iran, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan to use the Iranian port of Chabahar in the Indian Ocean to route their trade. The Chabahar port and a corridor that extends towards Afghanistan and Uzbekistan is expected to emerge as key gateway to channel trade between Eurasia, including landlocked Central Asia and the rest of the world.
The Iranian ambassador also said that India can invest up to a mammoth $ 20 billion in a sprawling free trade zone that was coming up next to the Chabahar port. flows for India.
"There is possibility to revive the #India's plan to invest $20 billion in #Chabahar Economic Free Zone (EFZ) for setting up petrochemical and fertilizer plants either independently or through joint ventures with #Iranian public-private companies”.https://t.co/vvch4ZDhom
He pointed out that “there is possibility to revive the India’s plan to invest $20 billion in Chabahar Economic Free Zone (EFZ) for setting up petrochemical and fertilizer plants either independently or through joint ventures with Iranian public-private companies”.
He added that Iran has already allocated land in the EFZ, and willing to offer a favourable treatment in pricing of gas for India and also supply of rich gas at a competitive price and on a long-term basis for the entire life cycle of the joint venture projects.
The Iranian ambassador’s assertions on Chabahar dove tailed with another proposal — of linking the Chabahar route with the older International North South Transport Corridor initiative.
The Chabahar route begins at Mumbai, though Gujarat’s Mundra port is now acquiring greater resonance. From India’s west coast, the corridor heads to Chabahar, from where the route heads towards Afghanistan via Iran’s Sistan Baluchistan province along a recent India-built road. Over time, a railway is also envisaged, which will link Chabahar with the Hajigak iron ore mines in Afghanistan, where India has made major investments.
Essentially, the new INSTC is a combination of two corridors. It then heads to Bandar Abbas, a famous Iranian port in the Gulf. From there it takes the overland route to Bandar Anzali, which is located on the Caspian Sea coast in the north.
Containers are off-loaded here and shipped along the Caspian to its Russian shore at Astrakhan, which becomes the base of further transportation into Eurasia. Over time, other countries are being networked in this rapidly mutating corridor including Azerbaijan and Armenia, in tune with the rise of Eurasia in the 21 st century.
Earlier this year, India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar proposed the integration of the Chabahar Port with the INSTC. “I am hopeful that during the INSTC Coordination Council meeting, member-states would agree to the expansion of the INSTC route to include the Chabahar Port and also agree on expanding the membership of this project.”
(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
US-Iran nuclear deal cause of concern: Israel counter-terror chief
Israel counter-terror chief expressed concerns about the funds that will go to Hamas once the US lifts sanctions on Iran…reports Aarti Tikoo Singh
Israel on Monday said that it is concerned about the billions of dollars that could go to terror organisation Hamas if the US lifts its sanctions on Iran.
In a special virtual exchange with the Indian media, Nevo Barchad, the head of the counter-terrorism department in the strategic affairs division of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that though Israel trusts the judgment of its old friend and US President Joe Biden, it has concerns about the funds that will go to Hamas once the US lifts sanctions on Iran, which is the major sponsor of the Islamist terror group operating in Gaza.
The Biden administration is likely to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — which had been negotiated by P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the UK, the US plus Germany) together with the European Union.
Recently, indirect talks on the restoration of the agreement between the US and Iran resumed in Vienna.
In response to an IANS question on the latest development, Barchad said that Israel has opposed the JCPOA.
“We think it is a bad deal. If P5+1 are holding indirect talks and if Americans are going back to the deal, we hope it includes various changes and with a stronger enforcement. We also hope that the Americans won’t lift all the sanctions,” the top Israeli official said.
Emphasising that US President Biden is “a true friend” of Israel, Barchad said that his government trusts his judgement on Iran, which he said funds 50 per cent of Hamas’ terror activities against the Israeli people.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
The remaining 50 per cent comes from various other sources, including funds raised from Islamic charities in Muslim nations and Europe, Barchad said, adding that Israel has been making efforts to block all those channels of terror-funding.
At the same time, he added, it is not far-fetched to think that billions of dollars will go to Hamas, Hezbollah, Houtis and the pro-Iranian militia in Syria, once the sanctions are lifted.
Barchad, however, warned that Hamas should not underestimate Israel’s defence capabilities.
Responding to another question on the use of Chinese weaponry by Hamas against Israel, Barchad said that Israel and China shared a good relationship and understanding.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh delivers a speech in Gaza City, on Jan. 23, 2018. The Islamic Hamas movement called on Tuesday for Palestinian national conference to discuss a new Palestinian strategy. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh stressed in a televised speech the need for a new strategy that addresses the U.S. and Israeli declaration aimed at striking the Palestinian issue. (Xinhua/Wissam Nassar/IANS)
“Any use of Chinese weapons or technology by the Hamas has happened without the knowledge of China,” he said.
Barchad added that the Chinese military technology serves a dual purpose — for surveillance as well as military build-up. If their equipment is being used for military and not civilian purposes, it is not happening knowingly, the official said.
Barchad also said that the truce with Palestine after the 11-day ‘war’ is not a permanent solution.
Hamas, he said, openly wants destruction of Israel and even as the ceasefire is the best outcome at the moment, it can’t be a long lasting solution.
The counter-terrorism chief said that the ideal solution would be that the Hamas regime steps down followed by PLA and Israel coming to the table for talks.
The US official noted that mutual return to compliance is possible only after Iran makes a political decision on JCPOA….reports Asian Lite News
A US State Department official said Washington and Tehran could achieve a mutual return to compliance with the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal in the coming weeks if the Islamic Republic makes a “political decision”.
The official said in a phone briefing on Thursday that the last three rounds of indirect talks between the US and Iran in Vienna “helped crystallise the choices”, but noting “nothing has been agreed” on how to revive the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reports Xinhua news agency.
“If Iran makes the political decision that it genuinely wants to return to the JCPOA as the JCPOA was negotiated, then it could be done relatively quickly and implementation could be relatively swift,” the official told reporters.
“But we don’t know if Iran has made that decision. There’s still a lot of work to do in terms of agreeing on the sanctions, nuclear steps, but also the sequencing and the timetable for implementation of the steps that both sides are going to need to take,” he said.
The official suggested that it is possible for Washington and Tehran to achieve a mutual return to compliance in the next few weeks, while stressing “this is ultimately a matter of a political decision that needs to be made in Iran”.
The US delegation will return to Vienna this week for a new round of indirect talks with Iran.
“We just have to see whether the next round actually moves things forward, or whether we still are faced with unrealistic demands by Iran,” said the official.
Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s senior negotiator in Vienna talks, said last week that negotiating parties have reached “common ground in many cases”, but there were still differences.
President Joe Biden (www.instagram.comwhitehouse)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that the US knows that it has to return to law and assume its obligations pertaining to the nuclear deal.
The JCPOA was reached in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, the UK, Russia, France, China, plus Germany) together with the European Union.
Tehran agreed to roll back parts of its nuclear weapons program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions.
Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments in May 2019, one year after the administration of former US President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran.
EU Foreign Affairs spokesman Peter Stano told an online press conference on Monday that the reported incident in Natanz “could have been an act of sabotage”…reports Asian Lite News
The European Union (EU) has strongly rejected any attempts to derail diplomatic efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal currently underway in Vienna.
EU Foreign Affairs spokesman Peter Stano told an online press conference on Monday that the reported incident in Natanz “could have been an act of sabotage”, but insisted that there had been no official attribution over who was responsible, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Natanz uranium enrichment site near Tehran was hit by a power outage on Sunday as negotiators in Vienna were seeking to re-admit the US to the 2015 pact, officially known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, after former President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.
“There has been no official attribution and there are several accusations that we are aware of, but it has to be clarified what happened and who is behind it. We still need to clarify the facts in detail as quickly as possible,” he said.
Stano said that any attempt to derail the diplomatic negotiations underway in Vienna to salvage the JCPOA must be completely rejected.
“We reject any attempts to undermine, derail or weaken diplomatic efforts on the nuclear agreement… All issues concerning the nuclear program have to be resolved by diplomatic means because there is no other sustainable alternative,” he stressed.
Two meetings of the JCPOA Joint Commission were held last week in Vienna, chaired by Enrique Mora, the deputy secretary general and political director of the EU External Service Action Service, and attended by representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and Iran.
Washington sent a delegation led by US Special Envoy to Iran Robert Malley.
They did not meet their Iranian counterparts face-to-face, but a shuttle diplomacy approach was adopted with the intensified help of the coordinators.
The Iran nuclear deal was struck in 2015 but paralyzed by the US withdrawal in 2018…reports Asian Lite News.
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov mentioned, Vienna n-deal talks are really “encouraging signs” as it foresees a compromise and returning to the Iran nuclear deal.
The Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the Iran nuclear deal, resumed talks here again, with the lifting of sanctions on Iran and nuclear implementation measures on top of the agenda.
The European External Action Service (EEAS) said in a press release earlier on Friday that participants would “take stock of the discussions held at various levels this week, including the relevant expert groups, in the view of a possible return of the United States and to ensure the full and effective implementation of the JCPOA by all sides”, Xinhua news agency reported.
The joint commission started the talks on Tuesday, which have drawn public attention as representatives from the United States are in Vienna to save the deal.
The Iran nuclear deal was struck in 2015 but paralyzed by the US withdrawal in 2018.
The US and Iranian negotiators are expected not to meet face-to-face, but will hold indirect talks with the intensified help of the coordinators, according to a statement previously released the by EEAS.
The talks are chaired by Enrique Mora, the deputy secretary general and political director of the EEAS, on behalf of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. Representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and Iran are attending.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price informed that two working groups in the meeting were focused on respective steps for Tehran and Washington to revive the nuclear deal…reports Asian Lite News
The US has called the talks in Vienna over the 2015 Iran nuclear deal “a constructive step”, but rejected Tehran’s position of “maximalist demands”
“These discussions in Vienna, even though we are not meeting directly with the Iranians, as we have said, it is a welcome step, it is a constructive step, it is a potentially useful step,” Xinhua news agency quoted State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters in Washington at a press briefing on Tuesday.
“We don’t anticipate any immediate breakthrough,” he said.
“We know there will be difficult discussions ahead but again this is a healthy step forward.”
Price noted that two working groups in the meeting were focused on respective steps for Tehran and Washington to revive the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“What is on the table in Vienna today and over the next handful of days are those initial indirect discussions about that first step, what Iran would need to do to resume compliance with the JCPOA and what the US would need to do to resume its compliance with the JCPOA,” he said.
He expected the US could have a better understanding of a roadmap for how both sides get to mutual compliance with the nuclear deal following the discussions in Vienna.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who is leading Tehran’s delegation in Vienna, said earlier in the day that the US must remove all its sanctions against the Islamic Republic in one step if it seeks to rejoin the nuclear deal.
Price, however, made clear that the US would not accept “maximalist demands” from Iran.
“I think what we can essentially rule out are the maximalist demands that the United States do everything first and only in turn would Iran then act, I don’t think anyone is under the impression that that would be a viable proposal,” he said.
The Joint Commission of the JCPOA resumed talks in Vienna on Tuesday as senior diplomats of China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK, and Iran met behind closed doors in the Grand Hotel Wien.
Media reports said the US delegation led by Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley was put up at a nearby hotel.
The US and Iranian negotiators did not have direct talks, but a shuttle diplomacy approach was adopted with the intensified help of the coordinators.
Washington withdrew from the deal in 2018 and tightened sanctions on Iran under former President Donald Trump.
In response to the US moves, Iran suspended the implementation of parts of its obligations under the deal.
The aim of the consultations is to pave the way for the US to return to the agreement and to motivate Iran to comply with it again…reports Asian Lite News
Top diplomats are due to meet in Vienna on Tuesday to try to save the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), this time under new auspices.
The aim of the consultations is to pave the way for the US to return to the agreement and to motivate Iran to comply with it again, reports dpa news agency.
The round of talks between the remaining partners – Russia, China, France, the UK and Germany – is the first dialogue with Iran since US President Joe Biden took office in January.
Unlike his predecessor Donald Trump, Biden wants to revive the agreement.
According to information from Tehran, there will be no direct contact between Washington and Tehran at this stage.
The agreement is considered an important building block for arms control, as it is intended to prevent the Islamic Republic from building a nuclear weapon.
In 2018, Washington withdrew from the deal and tightened sanctions on Iran under former President Donald Trump.
In response to the US moves, Iran suspended the implementation of parts of its obligations under the deal.
The two countries are in a standoff over reviving the nuclear deal.
The Biden administration has said that if Iran returns to full compliance with the JCPOA, Washington would do the same.
But Iran insists its full compliance will only take place once US sanctions are removed.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua/IANS)
Representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and Iran, known as the participants in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), met virtually on Friday, and “agreed to resume this session of the Joint Commission in Vienna next week
The parties to the Iran nuclear deal will convene in Vienna next week to discuss the possibility of lifting sanctions on Tehran, as well as the country’s responsibility for further implementing the agreement, the European Union (EU) said in a statement.
Representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and Iran, known as the participants in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), met virtually on Friday, and “agreed to resume this session of the Joint Commission in Vienna next week, in order to clearly identify sanctions lifting and nuclear implementation measures”, Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.
Friday’s high-level online meeting was chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General and Political Director of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Enrique Mora, on behalf of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
Josep Borrell, The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
“Positive meeting today,” Mora said on Twitter following the meeting.
The parties will reconvene in Vienna next week, with “substantial work ahead for a key opportunity” to bring the JCPOA back to life, he added.
The participants recognised the prospect of a full return of the US to the JCPOA and “underlined their readiness to positively address this in a joint effort, according to the EEAS.
They also “emphasized their commitment to preserve the JCPOA and discussed modalities to ensure the return to its full and effective implementation”.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who attended the virtual session, said that there is no alternative to the JCPOA.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
All parties involved should make every effort for the earliest possible return of the Iran nuclear deal to the originally established framework, Ryabkov said.
The participants paid special attention to the measures that should be taken by the US to eliminate previously committed violations of the JCPOA and to lift its sanctions against Iran, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
The US confirmed on Friday that it would attend the meeting in Vienna next week, saying it remains “open to” direct talks with Tehran.
“We have agreed to participate in talks with our European, Russian, and Chinese partners to identify the issues involved in a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA with Iran,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran would be aiming for the “choreographed removal of all sanctions” followed by “Iran ceasing remedial measures”.
The EU said in its statement that the coordinator will “intensify separate contacts in Vienna with all JCPOA participants and the US”.
The development was welcomed by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who said it is good that all the relevant actors will meet to work on fully implementing the nuclear agreement again.
The JCPOA was reached in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, the UK, Russia, France, China, plus Germany) and the EU.
Tehran agreed to roll back parts of its nuclear weapons program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions.
President Joe Biden (www.instagram.com/whitehouse)
Washington under former President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and tightened sanctions on Iran.
The US and Iran are at a standoff over reviving the nuclear deal.
The Joe Biden administration said that if Iran returns to full compliance with the JCPOA, the US would do the same.
But Iran insisted its compliance would only take place once US sanctions were removed.
Iran claimed that US policy of maximum pressure, adopted by former President Donald Trump’s administration, has failed and the recession in Iran is over….reports Asian Lite News
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied that there has been either a direct or indirect exchange of messages between Tehran and Washington over mutual disputes, a top official said here.
“Until now, Iran hasn’t received any message, either direct or indirect, from the US administration,” Xinhua news agency quoted Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as saying.
The problem is that Washington is not willing to change the course, said Khatibzadeh, adding that the US has not taken steps to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Sanctions imposed by the former US government are still in place, and Iranian diplomats in New York City remain restricted in their movements, he noted.
US President Joe Biden
Khatibzadeh dismissed the continuation of pressure on Iran, saying that the US policy of maximum pressure, adopted by former President Donald Trump’s administration, has failed and the recession in Iran is over.
The US needs to stick to its own obligations, return to the JCPOA and lift sanctions that have been costly to the Islamic Republic, he said.
In response to the .S withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 and the re-imposition of sanctions, Iran has suspended implementing parts of its obligations under the deal.
The incumbent US administration under President Joe Biden has said that if Iran returns to full compliance with the nuclear deal, Washington would do the same.
But Iran insisted its compliance would only take place once US sanctions were removed.
