US President Joe Biden said the multi-state deal with Iran to curb its nuclear program was “dead”, according to a video released on Tuesday.
Engagement: 0
The video, which appears to be genuine and was made during President Biden’s visit to California on November 3, shows him responding to a question from a woman asking him about the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Act (JCPOA) is no longer viable. The JCPOA is also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal.
A woman with a ribbon in her hair in the colors of the Iranian national flag asks President Biden as she shakes his hand, “President Biden, would you please declare that the JCPOA is now terminated.”
“It’s dead but we’re not going to announce it,” the US president replies. “It’s a long story,” he adds. The said woman and other people standing by her side request the president not to make any agreement with the Tehran government.
“These people don’t represent us,” says the woman. “This is not our government,” says another man standing nearby. At the end of the video clip, President Biden can be seen saying, “I know they don’t represent you. But they have nuclear weapons.”
The authenticity of the video is not in question, the White House
The White House has not denied Biden’s comments. The new development comes as Tehran has refused to budge on the final terms of the deal, despite months of efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal. It should be noted that before Joe Biden, Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the JCPOA in 2018.
Negotiations to renew the agreement have been ongoing in Vienna since April 2021. At one point earlier this year, Tehran and Washington appeared to have come very close to a deal, but there has been no progress since then. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned in September that the parties were now abandoning the deal.
When asked about the video, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said no one is questioning its authenticity.
There is no hope of an agreement in the near future
Jon Kirby said Washington still wants to revive the Iran nuclear deal. But in view of the Ukraine war, this is no longer his priority. “The president’s statement is consistent with the letters we’ve been expressing to him about the JCVOA. But that’s not our focus right now,” Kirby told reporters.
He said that no progress is being made regarding the Iran deal and we do not see any hope of any progress in the near future. John Kirby said, “We don’t see any hope for such a deal in the near future. Iran is killing its own citizens on the one hand and selling drones to Russia on the other.”
He pointed to the actions taken by the Tehran government to suppress anti-government protests in Iran and the supply of drones used by Russia in Ukraine.
