Biden’s olive branch, Raisi’s snub
The UN speeches of US President Joe Biden and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi signaled a return to negotiations regarding the nuclear standoff, but still left significant uncertainty regarding the outcome.
The clearest message from the speeches was likely that, for now, Washington is still following Tehran’s script.
Raisi punches and repeatedly insults both the Trump and Biden administrations while the US president turns the other cheek, hoping his restraint will allow diplomacy to kick the Iran nuclear can down the road.
That means even though there was basically a deal in hand under the previous Iranian government in May for a reciprocal return to the 2015 JCPOA by both parties, the Biden administration is ready to engage in new negotiations – whose results would either be the same or lead to new American concessions.
The premise of Biden’s approach has been that he is ready to give up US leverage of worldwide sanctions on Iran if the ayatollahs will cease their 60% uranium enrichment violation of the JCPOA and fully restore International Atomic Energy Agency inspections.
In theory, Washington has said it also wanted an Iranian commitment to continue toward an add-on negotiation to make the JCPOA longer and stronger.
But the US has reportedly already made new concessions beyond the JCPOA. They include allowing Iran to store, instead of destroy, its new fleet of advanced centrifuges for enriching uranium at higher speeds, as well as repealing some Trump-era nuclear sanctions.
Despite those concessions by the US, Raisi has enjoyed letting America flail in the wind for nearly four months to wear down its will to hold to its remaining redlines.
Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak also speculated on Monday in an editorial
Trump in 2018, “were crimes against humanity during the coronavirus pandemic.” Sanctions are the Americans’ new method of war with the world, Raisi added.
He swore that his country had no intention of developing nuclear weapons, stating that “nukes have no place in our defense doctrine and defense policy.”
Biden’s address dealt only briefly with Iran. He also made a few short comments about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He voiced support for the two-state solution but recognized that we are “long way from that goal at the moment.”
“The commitment of United States to Israel’s security is without question and our support for an independent Jewish state is unequivocal, but I continue to believe that the twostate solution is the best way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish democratic state, living in peace, alongside a viable, sovereign and democratic Palestinian state,” said Biden. “We’re a long way from that goal at this moment, but we must never allow ourselves to give up on the possibility of progress.”
Biden also dedicated parts of his speech to defend the US’ chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“I stand here today for the first time in 20 years with the United States not at war. We’ve turned the page,” Biden said. “All the unmatched strength, energy, commitment, will and resources, our nation is now fully and squarely focused on what’s ahead of us, not what was behind.”
“We’ve ended 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan, and as we close this period of relentless war, we’re opening a new era of relentless diplomacy,” said Biden.
Speaking about the aftermath of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Biden said that “those who commit acts of terrorism against us will continue to find a determined enemy in the United States.”
“The world today is not the world of 2001, though,” Biden noted. “And the United States is not the same country we were when we were attacked on 9/11, 20 years ago. Today, we’re better equipped to detect and prevent terrorist threats and we are more resilient in our ability to repel them and to respond,” he said.
“We’ll meet terrorist threats that arise today and in the future with a full range of tools available to us, including working in cooperation with local partners, so that we need not be so reliant on large-scale military deployments.”
US military power “must be our tool of last resort not our first and should not be used as an answer to every problem we see around the world,” Biden explained as he laid out his vision of America’s place in the international community.
He spoke in particular about the importance of global partnerships as he called on world
leaders to join forces “to build a better future” and to address joint challenges such as climate change and COVID-19.
Speaking about the pandemic, Biden said that many of the world’s greatest concerns “cannot be solved or even addressed through the force of arms.”
“Bombs and bullets cannot defend against COVID-19 or its future variants,” he said. “To fight this pandemic, we need a collective act of science and political will. We need to get shots in arms as fast as possible and expand access to oxygen, tests, treatments to save lives around the world.”
He called on world leaders to work together to address climate challenges. “To keep within our reach the vital goal of limiting global warming to 1.5° Celsius, every nation needs to bring their highest possible ambitions to the table when we meet in Glasgow for COP26,” he said.
Reuters contributed to his report. •