US President-elect Joe Biden will reportedly insist Iran agrees to new demands if it wants the US to return to a nuclear deal and lift sanctions, The New York Times said Wednesday.
The Times said the Biden administration would seek to extend the duration of restrictions on Iran’s production of fissile material that could be used to make a (nuclear) bomb in a new round of negotiations.
According to the reports, Iran would also have to address its malign regional activities through proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen in the talks that would have to include its Arab neighbors like Saudi Arabia.
In the Times interview published on Wednesday, Biden said: “Look, there’s a lot of talk about precision missiles and all range of other things that are destabilizing the region.”
But, he added, the best way to achieve getting some stability in the region was to deal with the nuclear program.
Biden warned that if Iran acquired a bomb, it would spark a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, and the last goddamn thing we need in that part of the world is a buildup of nuclear capability.
He said: “In consultation with our allies and partners, we’re going to engage in negotiations and follow-on agreements to tighten and lengthen Iran’s nuclear constraints, as well as address the missile program.”
Biden was cited as saying that the United States always had the option to international snap back sanctions if need be, and that Iran knew that.
