White House spokesman: We are considering "other options" in addition to nuclear talks with Iran
Three days after the seventh round of negotiations to revive the JCPOA ended in Vienna, the White House spokesman announced on Monday that work on another option would continue with the support and cooperation of a range of US partners.
Jen Psaki said at a daily news conference on Monday, in response to a question about whether the end of the seventh round of talks had reached the point of imposing sanctions that had been discussed earlier: “Due to the way the Iranians approached the last round of talks, the president has asked us on the national security team to be prepared and look at other options in case diplomacy fails, and we have continued to do so in consultation with a range of our partners around the world. … I have nothing to say at this time about our next steps.”
At the same time as the White House press conference, the US State Department spokesperson said that Iran's move "is not acceptable to us," in response to a question about the end of the seventh round of talks and whether the Iranians intend to prolong the talks, emphasizing that the talks are taking place in the context of Iran's provocative actions in accelerating its nuclear program.
Ned Price went on to state that the pace of progress in negotiations "which, if concluded, would lead to mutual compliance with the JCPOA" is slower than "the pace of progress in Iran's nuclear program," and that if this situation continues, the JCPOA will effectively become an "empty shell" or "an unrevivable corpse."
"We are not wasting any time thinking about alternative paths, and we have done more work on alternatives than you might think. We are actively discussing alternatives with other members of the P5+1 and with other regional partners and beyond," he continued.
Meanwhile, Emily Horn, spokesperson for the US National Security Council, announced in a media statement that a high-ranking American delegation led by White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will travel to Israel this week and meet with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Emily Horne said in the statement: "Mr. Sullivan, who will be accompanied by his deputy for Middle East affairs and the State Department's director general for Near Eastern affairs, will hold talks with his Israeli counterpart and other Israeli officials on the threats posed by Iran and a range of strategic security issues of common concern during this trip, in addition to talks with the Israeli prime minister."
According to the media statement, Mr. Sullivan will chair the fourth round of strategic consultative talks between the two countries.
Israel has been an opponent of the JCPOA since its signing in 2015. Mr. Bennett has never ruled out taking unilateral action to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons.
President Biden considers the revival of the JCPOA to be in his country's national interests and has repeatedly reiterated his commitment that he will never allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.
Source: Voice of America
