Biden says US won’t lift sanctions to bring Iran to talks

WASHINGTON/RIYADH: US President Joe Biden said he won’t lift sanctions against Iran as long as the Islamic republic is not adhering to its nuclear deal commitments.

Asked whether he would halt sanctions to convince Iran to return to the bargaining table, Biden offered a clear reply in a CBS interview aired Sunday: “No.” The journalist then asked if the Iranians would first have to stop enriching uranium, which drew an affirmative nod from Biden. The 2015 landmark deal has been hanging by a thread since Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from it in 2018 and reimpose sanctions on Tehran.

Tehran a year later suspended its compliance with most key nuclear commitments to the deal. The Biden administration has expressed willingness to return to the deal, but insisted that Tehran first resume full compliance.

On January 4, Iran announced it has stepped up its uranium enrichment process to 20 per cent purity, far above the 3.67 per cent level permitted by the deal, but far below the amount required for an atomic bomb.

While President Biden anticipates the US rivalry with China will take the form of “extreme competition” rather than conflict between the two world powers. Biden said in the CBS interview that he has not spoken with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping since he became US president. “He’s very tough. He doesn’t have—and I don’t mean it as a criticism, just the reality—he doesn’t have a democratic, small D, bone in his body,” Biden said.

Meanwhile, President Biden has shaken up US policy on Yemen by ending support for Saudi-led offensive operations and de-listing the Huthi rebels as a terrorist group, but a swift end to the six-year conflict is highly unlikely.

Biden’s decisions last week mark a reversal of policies by his predecessor Donald Trump, a staunch backer of Saudi Arabia and a fierce opponent of rebel supporter Iran. What are the implications of the new US approach?

Biden, who has also halted some weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, called Yemen’s war a “catastrophe” which “has to end”.

Riyadh led a military coalition into Yemen in 2015 to prop up the government, but it has struggled to oust its highly motivated guerrilla opponents. On Sunday, the latest in a string of armed Huthi drones was intercepted heading for the kingdom, the day after the US moved to delist the rebels as terrorists.

The Huthis are also battling towards Marib, the government’s last northern stronghold, piling pressure on Saudi-backed forces.

Given Yemen’s complex dynamics, analysts say the challenge is finding a compromise acceptable to its myriad armed factions. “The million dollar question in Yemen (is) how to end all of its overlapping wars?” asked Gregory Johnsen, who has written widely on US policy in the country.

“The US has clear and obvious leverage with Saudi Arabia. It is much less clear what leverage the US has with the Huthis.”

The appointment of veteran diplomat Timothy Lenderking as a US special envoy for Yemen is expected to boost efforts to end the war. Biden said Lenderking would support a UN push for a ceasefire and revive talks between the Huthis and the government.