Russian Expert: US is Not Ready for a Deal with Iran
Tehran - BORNA - Andrey Sushentsov, Dean of the School of International Relations at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) and a member of the Scientific Council of Experts under the Russian Security Council, said it is hard to believe in the possibility of reviving the 2015 nuclear deal under US President Donald Trump, considering that the US withdrew from the agreement in 2018 under his order.
The Trump administration withdrew from the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 in May 2018, deeming it flawed. While reinstating the sanctions that had been lifted under the deal, it imposed numerous additional sanctions against Iran until its final days, under a policy known as the "Maximum Pressure Campaign."
Iran and the US, mediated by Oman, began negotiations during Trump's second term to reach a nuclear agreement and lift sanctions. Despite some progress, the talks were halted by the aggression of the Zionist regime against Iran's national sovereignty and territorial integrity on June 13 (23rd of Khordad). Trump has admitted to full awareness and support for this aggression at the time and has said he was responsible for the attacks, which Iran deemed a "betrayal of diplomacy."
Sushentsov told the TASS news agency: "The negotiations on the initial agreement took a long time and required complex diplomatic decisions. There are no signs that the current US administration is ready to revive this agreement."
The Russian expert further stated: "Trump withdrew from the JCPOA during his first presidency, an agreement for which a great deal of effort was made in Russian diplomacy. Despite the fact that the US President sometimes hints at the possibility of normalizing relations with Iran, no practical steps have been taken in this direction."
According to the US affairs expert, "if Iran shows weakness, rivals will immediately exploit it."
Sushentsov claimed: "Therefore, Tehran is actively strengthening its armed forces and missile defense system, creating conditions to prevent any potential new aggression."
He concluded by saying, "This tense situation is concerning not only for Iran but also for America's Arab allies," adding: "The presence of US military bases, as the example of Qatar showed, was no guarantee against protection (from Israeli aggression). This demonstrates the limitation of Washington's influence in the region."
The US, through direct participation in the war imposed by the Zionist regime on June 22 (1st of Tir), targeted Iran's nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan with bunker-buster bombs. Iran responded to the aggression of the US and the Zionist regime through separate operations, "Bisharat-e Fath" and "True Promise 3." This conflict ended on June 24 (3rd of Tir).
Iranian officials emphasized after the imposed war that they have never turned away from diplomacy and dialogue, but any negotiation about Iran's nuclear program requires guarantees against the recurrence of such attacks.
Meanwhile, the US President, while exaggerating about Iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy, has stated that when Iran acts to rebuild its nuclear program, he will repeat aggressive attacks against Iran and target these facilities again. Trump, while maintaining these warmongering statements, claims that Iran is willing to talk.
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