Like it or not, Biden must engage Iran to avoid a nuclear crisis
The HillMar 01, 2023
A new round of sanctions against Iran was announced by the US State Dept. on Thursday, aimed at targeting the country's oil and petrochemical sales. The news comes as talks between both countries remain stalled.
The six entities sanctioned — a Vietnam-based firm, two Chinese companies, a United Arab Emirates-based group, and two Iranian firms — have allegedly taken part in the transport or sale of Iranian oil or petrochemical products.
Tehran's aggressive behavior should not be rewarded with an outright removal of all sanctions, but it is crucial that the Biden admin. focuses on reciprocal, de-escalatory measures so as to restore monitoring mechanisms on Iran's nuclear program and prevent a catastrophic confrontation. As Iran increases its stockpile of enriched uranium by the day, the JCPOA is the only realistic way to ensure it will not develop nuclear weapons.
Two years into Biden's tenure it is evident that Tehran has fooled the admin. into engaging in endless negotiations so as to revive the insufficient JCPOA and buy time to develop nuclear weapons. The US and its allies must immediately re-enact the maximum pressure campaign against Iran, while also planning forceful contingency plans as a last resort to impede Tehran's nuclear program.
There's a 50% chance that Iran will possess a nuclear weapon before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.