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4. Iranian officials have confirmed that Tehran and Moscow, as part of a new nuclear deal, may swap oil as a way to bypass sanctions against Russia.
5. A massive injection of cash into Iran’s coffers following a JCPOA relaunch would enable Tehran, if it so chose, to offer more help to Russia for its war in Ukraine. In April, the Guardian reported that Russia was using Iranian-made weapons smuggled through Iraq. In August, US officials said Iran had started shipping combat drones to Russia for use in the war.
2.4 US must have ‘other available options’ to ensure Iran does not get bomb says Biden
US President Joe Biden says the US must ensure that it has "other available options" to guarantee that Iran does not achieve nuclear weapons capability, if efforts to reinstate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, or JCPOA, do not succeed, according to the White House.
National security spokesman John Kirby told a press briefing on September 8 that Washington would stay active in pushing for the return of the JCPOA—under which Iran would agree to curb its nuclear development programme in return for the lifting of economic sanctions—but its patience was "not eternal".
"Even as he has fostered and encouraged and pushed for a diplomatic path, [Biden] has conveyed to the rest of the administration that he wants to make sure that we have other available options to us to potentially achieve that solid outcome of the no nuclear weapons capability for Iran," he said, according to a Reuters report of the briefing.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at Nato headquarters in Brussels on September 9 that Tehran's latest response in negotiations to restore the nuclear pact pushed the talks a step back.
He added that Washington still hoped for a deal, but that it was not looking for an agreement at any cost, RFE/RL reported.
After 16 months of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington, the EU last month put forward a “final draft text” offer for reviving the JCPOA.
Iran and the US have since been responding to the proposal.
"In past weeks, we've closed some gaps. Iran has moved away from some extraneous demands—demands unrelated to the JCPOA itself," Blinken said. "However, the latest response takes us backwards. And we're not about to agree to a deal that doesn't meet our bottom-line requirements.... If we conclude a deal, it's only because it will advance our national security."
On September 10, France, the UK and Germany said in a joint statement that they have "serious doubts as to Iran's intentions and commitment to a successful outcome on the JCPOA".
Calling the statement “unconstructive”, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said: "It is surprising and regrettable that under the current circumstances when diplomatic interactions and exchange of messages continue between the negotiating sides and the coordinator of the Vienna [JCPOA] talks to finalise the negotiations, the EU troika issues such a
10 IRAN Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com