The White House redefines its diplomatic contacts with Iran

The recent protests in Iran have attracted the world spotlight for the response that the Islamic Republic has given to the protesters, however, The West has taken steps as the Tehran government proceeded with the nuclear agreements.

The United States considers that there is now “a deadlock” in the diplomatic channel with the Arab nation and on the other hand the government of Ebrahim Raisi appears on the radar by providing combat drones to Russia in the middle of the invasion to its neighbor Ukraine.

These emerged in the interview that the spokesman for the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, offered to the voice of america. For clarity and length, the interview has been edited.

VOA: President Joe Biden maintains that diplomacy is still a viable option to stop the Islamic Republic from its nuclear weapons. On the other hand, there has been a lot of criticism of that approach, especially from the Iranian opposition, either inside or outside of Iran and they demand that the negotiation be stopped and maximum pressure be resumed or expanded and now, we see the regime firing Iranian protesters in Iran. Does the US believe that the Islamic Republic still has the legitimacy to exercise diplomacy?

Kirby: There is no prospect of an agreement, of diplomacy, at this time, with Iran. We’re at an impasse right now, and we’re not focused on that, per se, the president still thinks it’s really important that Iran doesn’t achieve nuclear weapons capability and yes, the president would prefer to do it through diplomacy. But right now that diplomacy is not going to continue.

We are too far apart to be close to agreement here with Iran, they have made some irresponsible demands that are well beyond the scope of the JCPOA boundary [Plan de Acción Integral Conjunto]. So that’s the way to focus right now. The approach is to make it clear that we are going to continue to hold the Iranian regime accountable for the way it has been treating its citizens and citizens who are trying to peacefully protest and make their voices clearer, and we have done that in the past with sanctions. . That will be done in the future. That’s the focus.

VOA: Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, at Georgetown University, after mentioning that the Biden administration is taking steps in support of the Iranians such as imposing sanctions; he said: “that doesn’t mean we can stop every bullet or contain every button.” Yet people are dying on the streets of Tehran, isn’t it time for the US to do more?

Kirby: The United States will continue to review our options in the past, not just in the last week, we will continue to review options in the future, and we are working with allies and partners in the region and outside the region to continue to do so.

VOA: Does the administration have any plans to meet with Iranian opposition leaders?

Kirby: I would say that I have nothing in the plans.

VOA: Any particular help for Ukraine to combat Iranian drones, aside from sanctioning Iran’s drone industry?

Kirby: We have been providing the Ukrainian military with a wide range of capabilities to help it better defend itself. We knew that these drones were going to be introduced to the battlefield. When we publicly said that the Russians were going to Tehran to buy them. How feasible they are remains to be seen, but they clearly have lethal capabilities. And so the president talked about the additional evidence capabilities and what you just saw in Brussels this week… some nations like Germany and Spain have agreed to some additional air defense capabilities and we’ll look at the things we can do to improve air defense. from Ukraine. We will do that.

VOA: Some US experts say that Putin, Vladimir Putin, is using the recent escalation and the nuclear threat only to intimidate and push Ukraine into negotiations. Do you think that Vladimir Putin is coming out of weakness? And how sure is he that European leaders will crack under pressure and want to pressure Ukraine into negotiating?

Kirby: What I will tell you, the actions that Mr Putin [Vladimir Putin, presidente de Rusia] has taken, they are clearly not the actions of a confident leader, of a leader who feels certain about the way his war is being conducted. It’s brutal, it’s bloody, that’s ugly. And as the president has said, he has included war crimes and atrocities; he deliberately pursues civilian targets and tries to kill more of the ukrainian people let alone their soldiers, to strike fear into them and it is having the opposite effect.

It has helped to unite NATO, has hardened the resolve of the international community and has not struck fear into the hearts of the Ukrainian people at all. You can see them singing after the weekend attacks on the subway and they were on the street. They are brave, they are skilled, they are determined, and the United States with our allies and partners around the world will continue to provide security assistance to their youth, their military, and their ability to defend themselves.

And we haven’t seen anything more than that this week in Brussels. The Contact Group is a great example, as we have seen nothing but a resolved slippage of unity by our allies and partners, not just in Europe, in countries around the world to do what they can and make their own decisions to support Ukraine and that continues.

VOA: Well, do you see any indication that Belarusian troops could join Russia in its invasion of Ukraine from the north and how seriously would their participation affect the dynamics on the battlefield and the very ability of Ukrainian forces to defend themselves?

Kirby: We have seen no indication that Belarusian troops are preparing to enter or will enter. So I don’t want to get ahead of myself in terms of speculation on where we are, what could be expected and what clearly can be. Any additional troops that are going to be commanded by Russian leaders inside Ukraine are obviously something to worry about, and we are.

VOA: With this threat from Vladimir Putin to use nuclear weapons, and you mentioned tactics, have you seen any movement regarding such use?

Kirby: Monitoring as best we can, we have seen no indication that Mr Putin has made a decision to use mass destruction or the arms tax or otherwise. We have not seen any indication from the military that they are preparing for such use. And he would just add that we don’t see anything that gives us reason to change our own strategy.

[Entrevista realizada por Farhad Pouladi, corresponsal del Servicio Persa de VOA, desde Washington DC]

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