Thread: State spox: US is prepared to resume indirect talks w Iran, to resume that 7th round of negotiations...
We are ready to go if & when the Iranians signal they are as well. That is because we want to see Iran nuclear program constrained....1/
State spx, contd: But this process is not indefinite. There will come a point where our calculus will change
Where the benefits it accrues may one day outweigh than benefits the international community might accrue from return to JCPOA. We are not there yet. 2/
State spox, cont'd: There is a broader issue you raise that suggests because Iran is engaging in this behavior in other realms, does that implicate our view of the nuclear negotiations. Our view continues to be that every other challenge Iran poses becomes 3/
(more difficult if Iran nuclear program advances) (check transcript).
[Getting Iran nuclear program back in box] That will enable us to better in some cases diplomatically take on, in other cases confront the broader set of challenges that Iran poses 4/
State spox on Iran, cont'd: It may not be a coincidence that the challenges Iran posed in non-nuclear realm have not gotten better since US left JCPOA. In fact, in some cases, they have gotten worse 5/
Asked about Iranian signals they are probably waiting for Raisi inauguration to return to Vienna talks, State spox reiterates what he said in past several days, suggesting that Iran has not formally notified the EU/P5+1 parties when it might be prepared to return to Vienna.
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🧵New from me: Iran notifies parties won’t be ready to resume Vienna talks before Raisi inaugurated in August. Delay could indicate Raisi team believes they can negotiate a better deal. diplomatic.substack.com/p/iran-notifie…
“I don’t think this delay is only because they want to basically get the credit for restoring the deal & reaping the economic benefits. I think it is indicative of the fact that they…are dissatisfied with where the negotiations are,” @AliVaezdiplomatic.substack.com/p/iran-notifie…
“Either the Raisi team will come in and begin negotiations pretty quickly to try to get a marginally better agreement…Or, they would decide this is not good enough and engage in this dangerous game of brinksmanship,” @AliVaezdiplomatic.substack.com/p/iran-notifie…
"Prior to the kidnapping plot, the gov't f Iran attempted to lure Victim-1 to a 3rd country in order to capture Victim-1 for rendition to Iran. In appr. 2018, Iranian gov't officials attempted to induce relatives of V-1, who reside in Iran, to invite V-1 to travel to a 3rd cntry
"On multiple occasions in 2020 & 2021,...Farahani and his network procured the services of private investigators to surveil, photograph and video record Victim-1 & V-1's household members in Brooklyn.... As part of kidnapping plot, the Farahani-led intel network also researched
"methods of transporting V-1 out of the US for rendition to Iran. Sadeghi, for ex., researched a service offering military-style speedboats for self-operated maritime evacuation out of New York City, & maritime travel from New York to Venezuela...
“Whether it is nailed down while Rouhani is president or not is not a big determinant in the success of the deal,” @hrome2 “My expectation is that this can and will still come together.” diplomatic.substack.com/p/iran-transit…
Iran committee reviewing Vienna negotiatons to date includes Raisi fopo advisor Ali Baqeri, SNSC’s Shamkhani & deputy Ali Hoseini Tash, AEOI’s Salehi, DepFM Araghchi, parliament’s 2nd Vice-speaker Abdolreza Mesri & nat sec comm’s Vahid Jalalzadeh diplomatic.substack.com/p/iran-transit…
Psaki, on strikes on Iraq/Syria border: The president's view is that it was necessary, appropriate and deliberate action, and the strikes were designed to limit risk of escalation..
Psaki: We continue to believe &never held back from noting that Iran is a bad actor in the region
At same time, we feel we are moving forward & seek opportunity to move forward on negotiations to prevent Iran from ever obtaining a nclr weapon.
No link w Isrl Prs. Rivlin visit
Psaki, asked if US looking to post JCPOA talks to deal with UAV threat from Iran-backed militias in Iraq:
I would say as it relates to responding to attacks on men & women serving, threats to our facilities in region, don’t see that as on the same exact track.
While the US considers the outcome of Iran’s recent election “pre-manufactured,” it “does not affect our determination to try to reach a deal or the pace at which we will go about pursuing it,” senior State Dept official said. diplomatic.substack.com/p/us-still-ser…
US official pressed for follow-on talks, and said it would seem they would be in Iran’s interests too, “because they have issues that they’re going to want to bring to the table.” diplomatic.substack.com/p/us-still-ser…
Snr State Dept official says Iran deal not done: Still have serious differences with Iran, incl. on nuclear steps Iran needs to take to come back into compliance, & on sequence of steps by both sides that would need to be taken. Nothing agreed til everything agreed. 1/
Still issues that need to be resolved. Not there yet, and he will not speculate as to if and when we will get there.
On impact of Iran elections,...from our point of view, it does not affect our determination to try to pursue a deal or pace we go about pursuing it.
On Iran asking for assurances the US won't quit deal again, senior State Dept official says: there is no such thing as a guarantee. We know it, Iran knows it. ...Best guarantee is to get back into the deal and implement it faithfully.