Washington: All Options on Iran Are on the Table
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken says the US agrees with Britain, Germany, and France on bringing Iran back into the nuclear deal.
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Blinken: We don’t know if Iran is willing to reconnect in a meaningful way
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed doubts about Iran’s desire to return to talks on its nuclear program, stressing that “all options are on the table” for Washington in this regard.
The US, France, Germany, and Britain are once again in full agreement
Blinken stressed, in a statement to CNN on Sunday, the importance of the meeting held by US President Joe Biden in Rome yesterday with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, pointing out that the four countries are once again in full agreement. On the issue of returning Tehran to full compliance with the agreement concluded in 2015 and actively dealing in this regard with Russia and China.
Democracy is the way to deal with Iran's nuclear program
Blinken pointed out that Washington and its allies consider that the best way to deal with “the dangers and threats posed by Iran’s nuclear program” is through democracy, warning that this program has become more dangerous in the past months.
He said, “There is still a window for Iran to come back to negotiation and for us to jointly commit to (the nuclear deal), which would be the best outcome, but that depends on whether Iran is in fact serious about its intention to do so. We don’t yet know if Iran is. You want to come back and reconnect in a meaningful way.”
In another interview with CBS, Blinken warned that Iran is “moving forward in aggressively developing its nuclear program,” noting that the time period needed by Tehran to produce enough fissile material to produce a nuclear bomb is shrinking more and more.
IRAN DEAL LATEST: Secretary of State @SecBlinken doesn't rule out military action if Iran "is not prepared to engage quickly in good faith" when it comes to the JCPOA nuclear deal.
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 31, 2021
"As we always say, every option is on the table," Blinken tells @margbrennan pic.twitter.com/WDiaROCCYm
The US Secretary of State reiterated Washington’s support for a diplomatic solution on Iran’s nuclear issue, adding, “But at the same time we are looking, as appropriate also to other options, if Iran is not prepared to communicate urgently in good faith to resume talks from the point where they were suspended in June due to a change of government there.”
If democracy fails, other options are on the table
In response to a question about whether “other options” meant the possibility of resorting to military measures against Iran, the Minister said that “all options are on the table.”
The US, UK, France, and Germany released a joint statement, on Saturday, which read "continued Iranian nuclear advances and obstacles to the IAEA’s work will jeopardize the possibility of a return to the JCPOA."
Official sources had reported the Iranian Foreign Ministry as saying that the new US sanctions imposed on Iran's military drone program contradict Washington's claims that it is seeking to return to the nuclear agreement.
On his part, EU Spokesperson Peter Stano said on Friday that there are attempts between Iran and other JCPOA signatories to fix a concrete date as early as possible to reconvene in Vienna.
Also on Friday, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Ali Bagheri Kani, said that Tehran strives to achieve tangible results for the Iranian people in the new Vienna Talks to lift the unjust sanctions, stressing that Russia and China also support negotiations that can yield tangible results.
