Sullivan remarks added to ambiguity over JCPOA revival: expert
An expert on Iran has said that the recent speech delivered by U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at a Washington think tank has only added to ambiguity over the resuscitation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
The expert, Hadi Khosroshahin, said the Sullivan remarks did not clarify whether the U.S. is still committed to diplomacy with respect to reviving the Iran deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“It’s not clear if the Americans still have the JCPOA on their agenda or they accept it or they have new demands for a new deal,” Khosroshahin told ILNA.
According to the expert, the Americans are walking a tightrope between diplomacy and deterrence.
He said the Biden administration has made moves that are aimed at signaling deterrence in addition to diplomacy vis-à-vis Iran.
“For the West, deterrence works as a prop-up to diplomacy under the current circumstances. But regarding diplomacy, the Sullivan remarks did not dispel ambiguities. Instead, they increased them,” Khosroshahin said.
He also said that the timespan of the Iran part in Sullivan remarks shows that the U.S. has other foreign policy priorities which are related to China and the Ukraine war.