America’s chance to return to the Iran nuclear deal is fading.

By Elijah J. Magnier:

Speculation about the revival of the nuclear deal between the United States and Iran has resurfaced. However, the issue has been under discussion since the US withdrew from the deal in 2018 without significant progress. The deal’s success depends primarily on the US, which must provide the necessary guarantees to lift all sanctions, release frozen Iranian funds and give Iran the time it needs to verify the implementation of any agreement, as it will not be cheated again. The US claims it will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons, although the “Islamic Republic” has no intention of doing so, despite knowing to do so. With heavy water, tens of thousands of advanced enrichment devices and 60 per cent pure enriched uranium (90 per cent purity is required for a bomb), Iran can produce several nuclear bombs simultaneously if that is its aim, given that it has all the necessary elements and scientific expertise. So, what has rekindled the US administration’s enthusiasm?

The recent Arab-Iranian rapprochement and the resumption of Saudi-Iranian diplomatic relations are intertwined with global dynamics, particularly the rivalry between the American and Russian giants vying to dismantle unilateralism as the dominant Western global order. Moreover, Iran’s announcement that it possesses hypersonic missiles capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 15 (the speed of sound) cannot be dissociated from US speculation about a possible return to the defunct nuclear deal, which President Donald Trump had previously scrapped. No American president can justify returning Iran’s frozen funds or allowing Western countries to re-engage commercially with Iran. As President Joe Biden has said, Washington’s proxy war in Ukraine primarily aims to re-establish control over the European continent and undermine Russian-European-Chinese trade and technological cooperation.

It is also crucial to consider the attitude of oil-rich and emerging countries in the Middle East, which have decided to maintain stable oil prices by reducing oil production, much to the displeasure of the US administration. These countries, led by Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, have also chosen to forge closer ties with Russia and China without completely cutting themselves off from the United States.