The White House has claimed time and again that they are ready to return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and lift nuclear-related sanctions, but in fact some informed sources reported that the American authorities want to put more pressures on the Islamic Republic’s oil export.
Such paradoxical approaches prove that the Biden administration tries to play with the cards that his predecessor Donald Trump put forward.
Within recent months, the US officials have taken inconsistent stances towards nuclear negotiations and the nuclear agreement, also dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Robert Malley, the lead negotiator on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, said on July 26 that Washington is ready to lift anti-Iran sanctions, because the maximum pressure policy has failure, adding that the increase of Iranian influence in the region is a consequence of Trump’s maximum pressure.While the incumbent officials at the White House rule out the Trump administration’s policy in dealing with Iran, they pursue the same policies and even threaten Tehran that they might impose more sanctions on export of Iran’s oil to China.
Reuters has reported that Washington would consider steps to hinder the Iranian oil export to China, if Iran refuses to return to the negotiating table or the upcoming administration of president-elect Ebrahim Raisi takes stricter stances on the nuclear negotiations.The US’s playing with the oil export is not a new game, but the Trump administration paid special attention to the card and imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil and energy industries. The previous US administration planned to decrease the Iranian oil export to zero, but they have never been able to implement the plot.
Following the signing of the JCPOA in 2015, Iran could increase oil production to 4.5 million bpd and the crude export reached 2.5 million bpd, but the re-imposition of sanctions by the Trump administration has caused a significant decline in Iran’s oil production and export since 2018. The maximum pressure and economic war on Iran inflicted a 70 billion dollar loss on the country’s oil income.Despite the fact that a power shift has happened in the United States, it seems that the democrat party is keen on keeping the sanction policy alive.
Kazem Gharibabadi , Iran’s representative in international organizations in Vienna, Austria, has recently pointed to the fact that the new US administration is determined to make use of the previous administration’s cards against Iran and pursue the policy of maximum pressure against Tehran.Observers believe that the excessive persistence of the Biden administration to keep the Trump’s sanction policy may increase Tehran’s pessimism and even end up in closing of window of diplomacy. Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has warned in his last meeting with the outgoing administration of President Hassan Rouhani that trust in West is not helpful.