House Republicans urge Biden to quit Iran nuclear talks

More than 100 Republicans in the US House of Representatives have called on the government to "immediately withdraw" from talks in Vienna aimed at restoring the Iran nuclear deal, and instead to "strongly reinforce" existing sanctions in order to pressure Tehran into stopping its nuclear advancements.

"Iran's growing nuclear provocations, while stalling progress in negotiations, are the epitome of bad faith," the congress members wrote in a letter dated 12 January. "The US and our partners must increase pressure on Iran to stop its dangerous nuclear advancements. The most effective way to do so is to strongly enforce our existing sanctions and urge our partners to take similar steps."

The latest round of negotiations to revive the deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), resumed on 3 December with all original parties to the deal — Iran, the US, France, Germany, the UK, China and Russia — working concurrently on issues related to sanctions relief, verification, and Iran's nuclear activities.

Iran began to gradually ramp up its nuclear programme to levels beyond what is permitted by the JCPOA in the middle of 2019, one year after former US president Donald Trump formally announced he would be pulling the US out of the deal and reimposing economic sanctions on Tehran. The sanctions at one point saw Iran's crude exports drop to well below 500,000 b/d from close to 2.4mn b/d previously, although shipments have picked up a little since Joe Biden's election in November. Argus put Iranian crude exports at around 728,500 b/d in December, down from 760,300 b/d in the previous month.

French foreign minister Jean-Yves le Drian said yesterday that although some progress has been made since December, the pace of the talks is slow and the sides are "still far" from an agreement — something the congress members highlighted in their letter.

"Administration officials' recent statements about the Vienna talks have made it clear that there is no diplomatic path forward at this time," they said. "Meanwhile, Iran is charging forward with its nuclear program, using advanced centrifuges and producing equipment for such centrifuges while stockpiling increasing quantities of uranium enriched at 20pc and 60pc purity."

Iranian officials say the slow pace of the talks is down to a "lack of initiatives" by their European and US counterparts.

Back in the box

The letter comes as the White House doubled down on the need for a return to the JCPOA, which it said successfully kept Iran's nuclear programme "in a box" before the US pulled out.

"None of the things we are looking at now — Iran's increased capability and capacity, their aggressive actions that they have taken through proxy wars around the world — would be happening if the former president had not recklessly pulled out of the nuclear deal," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. "The fact that the former president ripped up the nuclear deal meant that Iran's nuclear progress was no longer in a box, it not longer had the most robust inspection regime ever negotiated, [and] no longer had the tight restrictions on nuclear activity."

By Nader Itayim