US Readying More Iran Sanctions, Expects Iran to Violate Russia Export Controls
The U.S. will ramp up sanctions pressure against Iran if it doesn’t return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, said Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser. Sullivan also said Iran is preparing to send weapons technology to Russia in violation of international export controls.
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Sullivan, speaking to reporters this week, said the U.S. has placed a “deal on the table” for Iran, which “should step forward and take that deal” to rejoin the JCPOA. “If they don’t, we’re not standing still,” Sullivan said ahead of Biden’s trip to the Middle East. “So as far as we’re concerned, Iran has a choice: It can either come back on a compliance-for-compliance basis to the JCPOA, or it will face increasing pressure from the United States and increasing isolation from the international community.”
Sullivan pointed to the U.S. sanctions imposed last week against an international network of front companies involved in the delivery and sale of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil (see 2207060043). “We’ve already introduced two rounds of sanctions to crack down on their effort to evade the existing sanctions regime,” Sullivan said. “And we’ll keep doing that.”
It’s likely too late for the U.S. and Iran to reenter the JCPOA, and both sides need to negotiate a new deal if they want to make any progress, said James Clapper, former U.S. director of national intelligence. “I think there's too much water under the bridge,” Clapper said during an event this week hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “I personally am not convinced or believe that that deal can be salvaged.”
The Biden administration has held several rounds of indirect talks with Iran in an effort to rejoin the deal and bring Iran back into compliance. But Iran has asked the U.S. to lift certain sanctions before negotiations continue, and the State Department has said the two sides are “far apart” on that issue (see 2112290022).
“I think they've done too many things that will be very difficult to undo if we're going to go back to the original 2015 agreement,” Clapper said of Iran. “I’m of a mind now that that’s a lost cause.” He said the only path forward is to “start over” on a new, comprehensive agreement.
Sullivan also said the U.S. has evidence Iran is planning to help Russia evade international export controls. He said the Iranian government is preparing to send Russia several hundred drones, including ones with weapons capabilities, on an “expedited timeline.” Iran also is planning to train Russia’s military on how to use the drones as soon as this month.
“It’s unclear whether Iran has delivered any of these [unmanned aerial vehicles] to Russia already,” Sullivan said. “But this is just one example of how Russia is looking to countries like Iran for capabilities.”