Biden at UN: We’ll fully comply with JCPOA if Iran does the same
‘We’re a long way from two states, but can’t give up on possibility’
US President Joe Biden called on Iran to return to the nuclear deal and said Israelis and Palestinians were still a “long way” from two-states, when he delivered his first high-level address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
“We are working with the P5+1 to engage Iran diplomatically, to seek a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. We are prepared to return to full compliance if Iran does the same,” Biden said.
He underscored, however, that the “United States remains committed to preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.”
Since taking office in January, Biden has unsuccessfully sought to revive the 2015 Iran deal, which former US president Donald Trump’s administration exited in 2015. European Union-brokered talks in Vienna to restart the deal signed between Tehran and the six world powers – the US, China, Russia, France, Germany and Great Britain – were last held in June.
Iran said on Tuesday that talks would resume in a few weeks, the official Iranian news agency IRNA said.
Speaking hours later, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told the UNGA that Iran wants a resumption of nuclear talks with world powers to lead to the removal of US sanctions.
“The Islamic Republic considers the useful talks whose ultimate outcome is the lifting of all oppressive (US) sanctions,” Raisi said in his address, which was his first before the UNGA since his election in June.
US sanctions, imposed by
The Blue and White continued to cling to its slim 2-1 lead, with the scent of upset growing stronger with each passing inning. Assaf Lowenberg blasted a two-run shot for his tournament-leading fourth dinger in six games, putting Israel ahead 4-1 in the sixth.
The fairy tale came to a screeching halt in the bottom of the seventh inning when Wanger tired and allowed two consecutive Dutch players to reach on singles.
Fish went to his hard-throwing closer Bubby Rossman, hoping he could repeat the escape act he performed against the Russians in the tournament opener. Unfortunately, the Netherlands’ mighty lineup was up to Rossman’s heat and Roger Bernadina greeted Rossman with a three-run bomb over the right-field wall, tying the game at 4-4.
Following an infield single, the Dutch pushed across the lead run. By then, even though Rossman got out of a bases-loaded jam with Israel down only 5-4, Israel’s hopes of an upset had been shattered.
Forty-one-year-old veteran Shlomo Lipetz, who had pitched six strong innings just two nights earlier, was hit hard in the bottom of the eighth as the Dutch put the game beyond reach at 9-4.
Team Israel had faced an enormous challenge. It had just come off a grueling summer in which it had prepared for and participated in the Olympics.
As a result, it played the current European Championship tournament with only 17 players on its roster as opposed to 24 that are allowed. Four players performed double duties appearing as pitchers and position players, and several key names from the Olympic roster were unable to join the squad.
The Netherlands came in as the winningest nation in European baseball with 23 gold medals, while appearing in the final game 32 times out of the 36 times the championships have been held.
Israel, on the other hand, was appearing in only its second tournament.
General Manager Peter Kurz was proud of his team, saying that “coming away with the silver medal is an incredible achievement. Doing it with
mostly young players who have grown up in our program is a dream come true!”
Indeed, 10 out of the 17 players on the squad were born in Israel and are products of the Israel Baseball Academy, like home leader Lowengart and catcher Tal Erel.
Despite the disappointment of losing a late-inning lead and suffering a heartbreaking loss to the Netherlands, Erel was quick to express his deep satisfaction over Israel’s first-ever silver: “We are players from four generations of Israelis who came together with our American brothers who joined us as role models and friends. We melded into one unit with a common soul, a single purpose and sense