Senator Menendez: What are we trying to save by reviving the JCPOA?
The spokesman for the Iranian parliament's National Security Commission says that conditions are ready for a win-win agreement, provided that the West shows "good faith." Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, however, called on Biden to prevent the revival of the JCPOA.
Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini, spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the 11th Majlis, announced an extraordinary meeting of the commission with the Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs. Abbaszadeh said that Ali Bagheri evaluated the Vienna talks positively and noted that no direct talks have been held with the United States so far.
ISNA news agency quoted Abbaszadeh as saying: "According to the discussions raised, in the current circumstances, the objective value of direct negotiations with the United States is not clear. Despite the positive and forward-looking nature of the negotiations, there are still important issues that need to be negotiated and agreed upon."
He added that Iran has the right to lift all sanctions, but to date the parties have only accepted the lifting of some of them.
Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, expressed strong opposition to the revival of the JCPOA and called on the Biden administration to adopt a serious and new policy to confront the Islamic Republic's nuclear and missile programs and prevent Tehran from supporting proxy groups in the region.
Menendez emphasized in the US Senate on Tuesday evening that he had opposed the nuclear deal during Obama's time. He said: "What are we trying to save now? To change the behavior of Iranian leaders, we must clearly communicate a credible military threat and not just say that all options are on the table."
Currently, the negotiations to revive the JCPOA in Vienna have been temporarily suspended, and the delegations have returned to their capitals for consultations.
On Tuesday, February 1, the New York Times reported, citing Biden administration officials, that the parties appear to be on the verge of reviving the JCPOA, but it is Iran that must decide "whether it is prepared to dismantle many of its facilities or limit its nuclear program."
Talks are said to resume later this week.
US State Department officials have repeatedly warned that there is little time left to reach an agreement.
Source: DW
