🧵Iran FM Amir-Abdollahian, speaking to journalists in NY today, did not rule out sitting with the US: as far as the govt of US is concerned, the standard for us will be to watch the actions of US officials, and judge based on the actions taken by Pres. Biden, that will be the
basis on which we will formwule our decisions. not only based on the paradoxical statements and words we keep receiving.
He raised a few times Iran not able to access its own money to buy covid vaccine.
He said Iran plans to return to jcpoa negotiations veyr soon, (could be days or weeks), wants all parties to return to their commitments verifiably, and said Iran would be prepared to as well.
But said Iran is not going to base its economic security based only on the jcpoa, given its experience.
more soon
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
🧵Quite strong critique from former US UnderSecState for Arms Control & NATO DepSG of how Biden admin handled AUKUS. Sub “deal may be a brilliant stroke, but it was done without strategic imagination. What was needed was a 3-cornered billiard shot — pivot to Asia, yes,…” 1/x
“but keep our European allies on board and continue the fight against nuclear proliferation.
Instead, we have simultaneously enraged the French and blown apart 60 years of U.S. policy to minimize the use of highly enriched uranium….” 2/
“Surely there is a way to keep our European allies with us — they are our rear-guard against Russia — and not lend encouragement to nuclear proliferators.” 3/3
While France FM says he does not plan to meet Blinken in NY, and Iran has not yet agreed to a meeting with the p4+1 or Joint Commission, France FM said he did not think fallout on Australia sub pact would impact negotiations on Iran. diplomatic.substack.com/p/hopeful-sign…
Meantime, Russia’s envoy pressed Iran to pick up where negotiations left off in June when it returns to talks. “It seems that the P5+1 is united on the necessity of resuming the seventh round from where they left off,” @AliVaezdiplomatic.substack.com/p/hopeful-sign…
🧵My understanding is that Iran will have a series of parallel bilats with the P4+1 in NY, but that a joint P4+1 Iran or P5+1 Iran meeting is not expected. Blinken also due to meet with his E3 counterparts.
Separately, and more interesting
Understand P5+1 come up with a joint position they want to resume the talks with Iran where they left off after the sixth round. Don’t want Iran to say starting from scratch or here is a new text.
As Russia envoy to IAEA said yesterday, “The most important thing for success of the #ViennaTalks is to ensure continuity of the process. The negotiations should resume not from scratch but from the point reached by June 20.”
🧵On timing of Biden admin decision to allow vaccinated travelers in from November, a non-admin foreign policy expert says:
“Pretty sure this wouldn’t have happened we’re it not for the crisis with France. All the signals I got up to late last week were no imminent change.” 1/
“They had to do something to try to change the dynamic with Europe,” the expert in touch with admin said. “Words don’t matter and are even counterproductive— they had to act and this was low hanging fruit.” 2/
🧵this quote needs to be unpacked.
“It says a lot about how Washington discerns its interests in the Pacific..that there was no hand-wringing about angering the French.”
no handwringing by blinken? really?
maybe no handwringing by k. campbell.
seems some handwringing now
different policy experts have different foci. what seems broken about the inter agency process here is the people in the Biden administration who know and care about the transatlantic alliance did not get brought into it until too late diplomatic.substack.com/p/france-recal…
Also, does this line pass the laugh test? Come on.
“They told us they would take care of dealing with the French,” one senior U.S. official said.
New from me: White House and State Department said they understand the French position and place highest value on US France relationship, will try to resolve differences in the coming days, after France recalls ambassador diplomatic.substack.com/p/france-recal…
“We should have talked to the French earlier,” one U.S. official said. “The Europe crowd got involved very late…and it shows.” diplomatic.substack.com/p/france-recal…
“It indicates a clear sense on the part of the people who put this together that they had somehow lost sight of the President’s clear interest in rebuilding the alliance relationships & doing it in a very strong way,” ex US envoy to India Tom Pickering diplomatic.substack.com/p/france-recal…