As a sign of the urgency that President Biden feels about Iran, the White House convenes on Friday a meeting of the main committee of the National Security Council focused on the country’s nuclear program, people familiar with the matter told Axios.
Why it’s important: The Biden administration is still refining its strategy on how to resurrect the 2015 deal that President Trump backed in 2018, but wants to work with allies to curb Iran’s effort to enrich uranium and prevent arms races in the Middle East.
- The meetings of the committees of directors, held in the situation room and attended by the Secretaries of Defense and State and other key national security actors, are designed to discuss policy at the highest level before making recommendations to the President.
- They are preceded by a meeting of deputies from all national security agencies. On Wednesday, Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer led one of those sessions focused on the Middle East.
- One of the main actions on Friday is whether to push for a return to the nuclear deal before the June presidential election in Iran or wait until later, a source familiar with the matter said.
- The state and defense departments declined to comment. An NSC spokesman did not respond to any requests for comment.
Driving the news: Secretary of State Tony Blinken also plans to have a virtual meeting on Friday with the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, Germany and France, with Iran on this agenda as well.
- During Thursday’s White House press conference, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan hinted at the administration’s upcoming diplomatic push on Iran.
- “We are actively engaged” with European partners, he said. “Consultations will produce a unified front when it comes to our strategy.”
The plot: During a visit to the state department last Thursday, the president did not mention his efforts to revive the nuclear deal, a success signed by then-Obama Secretary of State John Kerry. Most Republicans in Congress harshly criticized him, and Trump later rescued him.
- Biden announced that the United States would stop supporting Saudi Arabia in its military offensive against Iranian-backed Houthis in the Yemeni civil war.
- However, he pledged to continue supplying Saudi systems to the Saudis, citing “threats from the forces supplied by Iran in various countries.”
The general picture: After withdrawing from the deal in 2018, Trump re-imposed sanctions on Iran. His “maximum pressure” campaign, led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, targeted oil exports and the central bank, with the aim of returning Tehran to the negotiating table.
- Still, Trump was unable to convince other members of the original deal, including China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany, to reinstate sanctions.
- The Iranians also fell and waited for him.
- Last month, Iran announced that it had increased uranium enrichment levels to 20%, well above the 5% limit of the agreement, which is a clear breach of the agreement.
Blinken has called on his newly appointed envoy to Iran, Rob Malley, to form a negotiating team of diplomats and experts with diverse views on the way forward with Iran, Barak reported Wednesday.
- Blinken even asked Malley to incorporate “more hawkish” people into Iran, according to a source close to the administration.
Between lines: Blinken has suggested that Iran should re-comply with the agreement before the United States lifts sanctions.
- “We are a long way from that moment,” the secretary said last week.