Iran: Biden Continues Trump’s Failed Policy

Kana’ani made the remarks in response to Biden’s recent op-ed in The Washington Post ahead of his trip to the region, in which the American leader made allegations against Iran.

The spokesman stated that Biden’s stress on following up economic and diplomatic pressure on Iran is an extension of the Trump administration’s failed maximum pressure campaign against Tehran, which runs counter to Washington’s claims about its willingness to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

“The former US administration withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) unilaterally, which was a big blow to the multilateral diplomatic strategy of resolving differences. Now the incumbent administration follows the same attitude of pursuing sanction and economic pressure in spite of all claims that it would return to the nuclear accord and make amends for all mistakes done by the previous administration,” Kana’ani noted.

“Resorting to such a failed policy in dealing with the most constructive actor in the region is in contradiction to Biden’s claims in the article that his administration is seeking to create peace and security in the region,” the spokesman continued.

He said a more stable and secure West Asia could only be achieved when the United States stops sowing discord among regional nations, halts pouring arms into the region, respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, stops unconditional support for the Zionist regime, and ends Iranophobic policy, and cautioned that as long as the wrong policies are not corrected, the US is responsible for the insecurity in the region.

Kana’ani underscored that the Zionist regime is the most significant root cause of insecurity and spread of terrorism in West Asia, so Washington’s all-out support for the regime is the most blatant reason why the US administration’s claim on seeking peace is unfounded.

As to the uprooting of Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) and containing terrorism in the region, the spokesman underined that comments made by the former US president and his secretary of state are in contradiction to Biden’s claims, and noted that the US cowardly assassinated Iranian Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani in a bid to help Daesh and Takfiri terrorists.

Also, the United States’ practical policy in dealing with the Palestinian cause is contrary to Biden’s claims on his country’s effort to create peace and security in the region, the Iranian official said, adding that the Zionist regime is the biggest source of insecurity and expansion of organized terrorism in West Asia and that all-out support by the US for the regime is the most apparent reason, which rules out the US administration’s claim on seeking peace.

The points written in Biden’s op-ed are a unilateral and unreal narrative of the US administration’s policies in the region, he stated, urging that the American politicians would better understand the realities of the modern world and stop dictating US values, avoid unilateralism, and allow regional countries to act based on their own values, interests, and realities to guarantee collective interests and security within the framework of regional cooperation.

Iran and the five remaining parties to the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), have held several rounds of negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna since April last year to restore the agreement, which was unilaterally abandoned by former US President Donald Trump in May 2018.

In quitting the agreement, Trump restored sanctions on Iran as part of what he called the “maximum pressure” campaign against the country. Those sanctions are being enforced to this day by the Biden administration, even though it has repeatedly acknowledged that the policy has been a mistake and a failure.

EU Deputy Foreign Policy Chief Enrique Mora coordinated the indirect negotiations between Iran and the US in Qatar’s Doha in late June aimed at resolving the differences hindering the revival of the 2015 agreement.

Iran has blasted the US for insisting on previous positions during the Doha talks, stressing that the path of diplomacy is still open. 

In a joint press conference with his Qatari counterpart Mohammad bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani in Tehran in early July, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian blamed Washington for failure in arriving at a deal in Doha talks, and refuted the US claim that Iran’s negotiators have raised demand irrelevant to the nuclear deal in the negotiations.

He added that the US reluctance to provide the needed guarantees for Iran’s continued economic interests under the deal is the main cause of prolonged talks.