As a sign of President Biden’s urgency about Iran, the White House convenes a National Security Council committee on Friday focused on the country’s nuclear program, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.
Why it matters: The Biden administration is still fine-tuning its strategy to revive the 2015 deal that President Trump withdrew from in 2018, but it wants to work with allies to slow Iran’s effort to enrich uranium and prevent an arms race in the Middle East.
- The meetings of the Directors’ Committees – held in the Situation Room and attended by the Secretaries of Defense and State and other key national security players – are designed to discuss policy at the highest level before making recommendations to the President.
- They are preceded by a meeting of the deputies of all national security forces. On Wednesday, Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer led such a session on the Middle East.
- One of the main action points on Friday is whether we should push for a return to the nuclear deal before Iran’s June presidential election or wait until after, a source familiar with the matter said.
- The Ministries of State and Defense declined to comment. An NSC spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Driving the news: Secretary of State Tony Blinken will also have a virtual meeting with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, Germany and France on Friday, with Iran also on that agenda.
- During Thursday’s White House press conference, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan hinted at the government’s coming diplomatic pressure against Iran.
- “We are actively involved” with European partners, he said. “The consultation will lead to a unified front when it comes to our strategy.”
The intrigue: On a visit to the State Department later Thursday, the president made no mention of his attempts to revive the nuclear deal, a landmark achievement of then-Secretary of State of the Obama administration, John Kerry. Most Congressional Republicans heavily criticized it, and Trump later saved it.
- Biden did announce that the US would no longer support Saudi Arabia in its military offensive against the Iranian-backed Houthis in the civil war in Yemen.
- However, he promised to continue to provide the Saudis with defense systems, citing “threats from Iranian-supplied forces in multiple countries.”
The big pictureAfter he pulled out of the deal in 2018, Trump again imposed sanctions on Iran. His “maximum pressure” campaign, led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, focused on oil exports and the central bank, with the aim of forcing Tehran back to the negotiating table.
- Nevertheless, Trump was unable to convince other members of the original agreement, including China, France, Russia, the UK, and Germany, to reintroduce the sanctions.
- The Iranians also crouched and waited for him.
- Last month, Iran announced it had raised its uranium enrichment levels to 20%, well above the deal’s 5% limit – a clear violation of the deal.
Blinken has asked his newly appointed Iran envoy, Rob Malley, to form a negotiating team made up of diplomats and experts with a range of views on the way forward with Iran, Barak reported Wednesday.
- Blinken has even asked Malley to bring in people who are “more aggressive” about Iran, according to a source close to the government.
Between the lines: Blinken has suggested that Iran should honor the deal before the United States lifts any sanctions.
- “We are a long way from that point,” the secretary said last week.