Following a meeting between the Israeli National Security Advisor in Washington and his American counterpart, Israeli officials stated that the chances of a new nuclear agreement being signed by world powers with Iran are significantly diminishing. According to reports from "Israel Hayom" and public broadcaster "Kan" on Tuesday, as well as the "Times of Israel," U.S. administration officials are closer than ever to acknowledging the failure of President Joe Biden's stated goal of returning to the 2015 agreement. Negotiations in Vienna between Iran and world powers have stalled for six weeks due to Iran's demand to remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from the U.S. terrorism list. An official told "Israel Hayom": "The likelihood of the two parties signing an agreement in the foreseeable future is diminishing." A source cited by "Kan" indicated that the White House is "more prepared these days to acknowledge the possibility of failure in the talks." According to a report from Axios on Monday, the Biden administration has "recently begun discussing a scenario" where the nuclear deal is not revived.
Last week, a senior Israeli diplomatic official stated that Biden administration officials informed their European counterparts that Washington does not plan to remove the Iranian Revolutionary Guard from the list. National Security Advisor Eyal Hulata met with his American counterpart Jake Sullivan on Monday in Washington, a day after Biden told Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that he would visit Israel in the coming months. According to the U.S. reading of the meeting, Sullivan informed Hulata that "the United States is in tune with Israel's concerns regarding threats to its security, including Iran and Iranian-backed proxies." During his conversation with Biden on Sunday, Bennett said "I am sure that President Biden, a true friend of Israel who cares about its security, will not remove the Revolutionary Guard from the terrorism list," according to the Israeli reading.
Iran called on Monday for a new meeting "as soon as possible" in the Vienna negotiations conducted with Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia directly, and the United States indirectly. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said at his weekly press conference, "It is appropriate to hold a face-to-face meeting as soon as possible. The location and time of this meeting have yet to be decided, and the level at which it should be held is on the agenda." Khatibzadeh stated that Iran and the European Union agreed that "extending the pause in negotiations is not in anyone's interest." He added that "the talks have not stopped and are ongoing through the Vienna negotiation coordinator." The Vienna talks, which began a year ago, aim to bring the United States back to the nuclear agreement by lifting sanctions imposed on Iran and ensuring Tehran's full compliance with its commitments. Khatibzadeh stated: "It is clear that if the United States had provided the correct answers to the remaining issues ... everyone would be in Vienna now." For his part, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price stated last week that "if Iran wants to lift sanctions beyond the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, they will need to address our concerns that go beyond the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action."
