The White House gave conflicting answers on whether the United States has begun direct talks with Iran over rejoining an Obama administration-negotiated nuclear agreement that Donald Trump exited as president, suggesting first that Washington and Tehran had already begun communicating.
Asked whether Iran would need to come into compliance before the U.S. would speak with them, press secretary Jen Psaki replied Thursday, “I think we’ve spoken to them” — before seeming to backtrack, reiterating the position that if Iran comes into compliance with the Obama-era deal, the U.S. will do the same.
“Well, we are, of course, there are conversations that can happen with partners and allies through the P5+1. There’s plenty to do, but certainly, that would be the first, next step in the process,” she told the Washington Examiner, referring to the United Nations Security Council’s five permanent members (and Germany) that have negotiated the nuclear accord with Iran.
Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the U.S. and other world powers agreed to lift sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program.
Psaki suggested that the U.S. would not grant any sanctions relief or begin nuclear dialogue without Iran first returning to the terms of the deal.
President Biden appointed a special envoy for Iran last month after pledging a return to the 2015 JCPOA on the campaign trail, and he has said that if Iran resumed strict compliance, Washington would rejoin the pact, which will likely be revised. Under the agreement, Iran can enrich uranium up to 3.5%.
Former President Trump reimposed sanctions in 2018, withdrawing from the JCPOA in what was dubbed a “maximum pressure” campaign. Since then, Iran has been breaching the limits set by the nuclear deal, with Tehran announcing last month that it had begun enriching material close to weapons-grade.
Biden has roundly criticized Trump’s Iran policy, calling it “a dangerous failure” and contending that it isolated the U.S.
“Trump — he walked away. Not Iran. Trump walked away,” Biden said in January last year. “Trump made the United States the international outlier.”
According to a report Monday, the White House is considering new possibilities for a return to the deal, including taking steps short of full compliance, three sources told Reuters.
But on Thursday, Psaki suggested Iran must be in full compliance before dialogue resume.
The president appeared to strike a different tack in an interview over the weekend, however.
Biden gave a firm “no” when asked by CBS if the U.S. would drop sanctions on Iran preemptively in order to return Tehran to the negotiating table, as the country’s leader has requested.
The interviewer followed up to ask if Iran first had to stop enriching uranium first. Biden nodded, appearing to suggest agreement and to mark a shift in policy.
The following day, however, Psaki claimed the president had not changed his stance, reiterating the White House’s position that Iran must first return to the terms of the deal.
Iran produced a small quantity of metallic uranium on Saturday, according to a confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency reviewed by the Wall Street Journal and reported Thursday.
Iran would need more than one pound of highly enriched metal to use in a weapon’s core. Tehran threatened to begin producing uranium metal within five months in December.
