![File photo of Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken. [State Department photo by Freddie Everett/ Public Domain]](https://www.eurasiareview.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/b-137-800x445.png)
Blinken Defends Iran JCPOA Deal Despite Criticism – OpEd
US Secretary Anthony Blinken defends the revival of a nuclear deal with Iran. He says this is the best way for ensuring that Tehran doesn’t go down that road and start producing nuclear weapons.
His comments have gone viral on the social media with different reports about what he said. He was speaking to Congress testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as reported by Anadolu.
The top diplomat emphasized that the “maximum pressure campaign” adopted by now ex-president Donald Trump and the decision to unilaterally leave the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018 “whatever the intent, did not produce results.” It further worsened the nuclear dilemma with Iran, Blinken maintained according to the Turkish-based news agency.
His views has generated much comments on the social media. One Ali Harb stated:
“Blinken pushed back against bipartisan criticism of efforts to restore the JCPOA. He acknowledged the grievance that the deal does not address Iran’s ballistic missiles and regional activities, but said these issues would be worse with no nuclear agreement.
Despite the views of Congressmen, he said: “We continue to believe that getting back into compliance with the agreement would be the best way to address the nuclear challenge posed by Iran, and to make sure that an Iran that is already acting with incredible aggression doesn’t have a nuclear weapon or the ability to produce one on short notice,” Blinken said.
They said that JCPOA no longer takes into account the advances Iran made following Trump’s decision to impose biting economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
When the US left the JCPOA deal in 2018 Tehran stepped back from its commitments under the 2015 agreement, including its agreed upon curbs to the amount of fissile material Tehran is allowed to possess, and its nuclear enrichment limits.
However, Iran and the US started talking once President Joe Biden took office in the beginning of 2021. They started a negotiating process, together with the European powers including Britain, France, Russia and China and Germany in Vienna aimed at securing a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA, but the negotiations have stalled in recent weeks despite progress towards a deal because of the ongoing Ukraine war and crisis.
Blinken told Congressmen that Iran’s other “malicious” activities in the region would be made “even worse if they had a nuclear weapon, or the ability to get one on short notice.” He added “it would encourage them to act with greater impunity,” he said as reported by Anadolu.
But Congressmen Risch was unswayed, saying “no agreement is better than a bad agreement.” He told Blinken: “I would urge you to move on. They’ve given us every indication that that would be appropriate for us to do, and I would encourage you to do that,” he said.
