By Khaled Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute—
On the eve of the resumption of the Iran nuclear talks in Vienna, Arabs have again warned the Biden administration against being duped by the mullahs of Tehran.
The Arabs, who share Israel’s concern over Iran’s accelerated efforts (and deceptive tactics) to achieve nuclear weapons, also warned the Biden administration against reaching a temporary deal that would give Iran more time to proceed with its disastrous and dangerous plans.
“Undoubtedly, a temporary nuclear agreement, if it is implemented, reflects the failure of the policy of President Biden’s administration, which announced that it would seek a wider, stronger and more comprehensive agreement,” wrote Saudi writer and political analyst Yahya Talidi.
Talidi pointed out that the US administration seems confused because of its changing policy priorities and objectives in the Middle East, “which reflects a lack of interest in strengthening and factors of stability and security in the region.” The previous nuclear agreement in 2015, he added, was a failure.
“The failure has logical and realistic causes, most notably that it was limited to a specific time period (it expires in 2025) and did not address the ambitions of hegemony and expansion of the Iranian regime and its ballistic missiles.
“This failure may be repeated today in Vienna. A temporary agreement could become permanent, allowing Iran to maintain its nuclear infrastructure and supply it with uranium, with which it has doubled its stockpile, and then the region will become mired in an uncontrollable nuclear arms race.”
Tariq Alhomayed, a Saudi journalist and former editor-in-chief of the Arabic-language newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, warned the Biden administration that Iran was only trying to buy more time by returning to the negotiations with the US and other world powers:
“The Vienna negotiations aimed at reaching a final agreement on the Iranian nuclear file are supposed to resume next week, and all indications are that we are facing time-wasting negotiations…
“It is clear that the Iranian are not seeking to seriously revive these negotiations, and therefore are not keen on the completion of the agreement, especially since the achievement of the agreement may weaken them at home.”
Alhomayed pointed out that Iran has been insisting on its conditions and demands, including that Washington and the Western powers release frozen Iranian funds before reaching an agreement. He added that Iran was refusing to discuss ballistic missiles, drones and its terrorist militias in the Middle East as the mullahs continue their alarming rate of uranium enrichment.
“Iran is doing all of this to take advantage of the time factor… If a nuclear agreement is not achieved, Tehran will have reached levels of enrichment that would allow it to implement its nuclear project by imposing a fait accompli and declaring victory.”
According to Alhomayed, the Biden administration has failed to send a tough message to Iran ahead of the resumption of the Vienna talks. Continue Reading….
