White House: Ready for New Round of Nuclear Talks with Iran
In response to questions about the Vienna talks, White House Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, "We believe diplomacy is — should always be the first option."
White House Spokeswoman Jen Psaki says, "We believe diplomacy is — should always be the first option," in terms of the nuclear deal talks, noting that Biden is fully committed to restoring America's position in the international arena.
"Our team remains prepared to return for another round of discussions, but I don’t have an update on when those might occur," Psaki added.
Tune in for a briefing with Press Secretary Jen Psaki. https://t.co/X6wP6kZKIl
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 12, 2021
Sullivan: Biden's administration believes in diplomacy
Last week, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stressed President Joe Biden's primary "commitment to Israel’s security and to ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon," the White House said in a statement.
"President Biden's administration believes that diplomacy is the best path to achieving this goal," Sullivan said, noting that President Biden made it clear that "if diplomacy fails, the United States is willing to go to other options with Iran."
Afghanistan
With regard to Afghanistan, Psaki said, "The United States is the single-largest humanitarian donor in Afghanistan, providing nearly $330 million this year alone," stressing, "we will continue to take steps to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people and call on other donors to step up their contributions to help deliver critical assistance."
She pointed out that the Corona pandemic is still "front and center on the minds of the American people," who want to return to normal life, and President Biden understands this, and this is what he is working on every day.
"If there are fewer dollars to be spent, there are choices that need to be made. And the President agrees," Psaki said. She also noted that Biden "wants to make a fundamental change in our economy," and the pandemic is exactly the time to do that.
The Spokeswoman continued that Biden has taken office fully committed to restoring America's position in the international arena and has proposed a bold and ambitious agenda.