US says working on contingency plans in case Iran fails to return to nuclear talks

A senior US State Department official on Thursday, 23 September, said that the United States is working on contingency plans if Iran continues to make nuclear advances and fail to return to international talks. According to CNN, the official, who chose to remain anonymous, said that the US and its allies are waiting for Tehran to return to nuclear talks, adding that patience won't last forever. While speaking about making contingency plans if the nuclear deal falls through, the official said, “Any government would do this”. 

The official said that the US obviously has to look at what it will do if Iran concludes that it is not interested in coming back to the nuclear deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or if its nuclear advantage is such that it doesn’t make sense for JCPOA to have been hollowed out. The official added that the US and other participants in JCPOA prefer Iran to come back to the table. However, he added that if there is any concern about a “plan B,” it is the one that Iran continues to build nuclear advances and not seriously engage in returning to the pact. 

Further, the official emphasised on US’ willingness to restart talks, but he also said that patience is in danger of wearing thin. He said that at some point, the US could conclude that the JCPOA no longer fulfills the non-proliferation benefits that America had bargained for. The official added that if Iran continues to delay a return to talks or is inconsistent with US-Iran mutual return, America may conclude that Iran “simply has a different course of action in mind, and we’ll have to act accordingly”. 

Iran calls for an end to US sanctions 

The US official’s comments come after newly-minted Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi slammed the US at the United Nations General Assembly. In a pre-recorded message, Raisi had said that the US and the world no longer care about “America first” or “America’s back”. He also brought in regional issues, American support to Israel and stalled talks on the 2015 Nuclear deal. 

Raisi had asserted that he was eager to resume the JCPOA, highlighting that nuclear weapons have “no place” in Iran’s defence and deterrence policy. He had called for an end to the US sanctions and said that the Islamic Republic is keen on having large scale political-economic engagements with the world. “Nukes have no place in our defence doctrine and deterrence policy. Our country’s strategic policy is to consider the production and stockpiling of atomic weapons as forbidden,” Raisi had said. 

“Sanctions are the US’ new way of war with the nations of the world,” he had concluded. 

(Image: AP)