US Imposes New Sanctions on Iran Amid Stalled Diplomacy

Facts

• A new round of sanctions against Iran was announced by the US State Dept. on Thursday, aimed at targeting the country's oil and petrochemical sales. The news comes as talks between both countries remain stalled.¹
• The six entities sanctioned — a Vietnam-based firm, two Chinese companies, a United Arab Emirates-based group, and two Iranian firms — have allegedly taken part in the transport or sale of Iranian oil or petrochemical products.²
• The punitive measures are part of a broader push to curb Iranian oil smuggling, and stem from a Trump-era executive order that restored extensive sanctions on Tehran after the US pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. The Biden admin. has so far failed in efforts to restore the deal.³
• The sanctions come as, on Tuesday, the Pentagon claimed that Tehran could produce enough weapons-grade material to manufacture a nuclear weapon in less than two weeks.⁴
• The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the Biden admin. remains hesitant to issue a public censure of Iran over its production of near-weapons-grade uranium, despite Britain, France, and Germany supporting it.⁵
• Reports suggest that an 18-page restricted document from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), circulated on Wednesday, confirmed previous accounts that uranium particles enriched to nearly 84% purity had been detected at Fordow nuclear site, just below the 90% weapons-grade level.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²United states department of state, ³Reuters, ⁴The hill, ⁵Wall Street Journal and ⁶Washington Post.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by The hill. Tehran's aggressive behavior should not be rewarded with an outright removal of all sanctions, but it is crucial that the Biden admin. focuses on reciprocal, de-escalatory measures so as to restore monitoring mechanisms on Iran's nuclear program and prevent a catastrophic confrontation. As Iran increases its stockpile of enriched uranium by the day, the JCPOA is the only realistic way to ensure it will not develop nuclear weapons.
• Republican narrative, as provided by National review. Two years into Biden's tenure it is evident that Tehran has fooled the admin. into engaging in endless negotiations so as to revive the insufficient JCPOA and buy time to develop nuclear weapons. The US and its allies must immediately re-enact the maximum pressure campaign against Iran, while also planning forceful contingency plans as a last resort to impede Tehran's nuclear program.

Predictions