West realizes there is no alternative to JCPOA

Saeed Azimi Staff writer

After a long pause, which rather seemed never-ending, the deadlock on resurrecting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is apparently broken. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and his deputy, Enrique Mora, went to Amman, Jordan to meet Iran’s top diplomat Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, as well as top negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani.

Although the two-hour meeting did not produce a breakthrough, it sparked hope among political pundits who have been closely following the developments surrounding the JCPOA. What seemed common among all those pundits was that the West has come to its senses, knowing that there is no alternative to the 2015 nuclear deal.

“We continue to believe, for example, on Iran’s nuclear program that the best way to deal with this challenge, to deal with this threat, is through diplomacy,” U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Thursday.

He added that Washington has been “engaged in intense diplomacy” before throwing the ball back into Tehran’s court. “But if Iran is not willing or able to do what’s necessary to get back into compliance, well, that’s part of the equation too.”

The U.S. blame game has become a ragged tactic by now. A change of strategy is necessary should Washington be serious about coming to terms with Tehran.

On a cheerier note, Borrell said those who believe there is an alternative to the JCPOA “simply fool themselves.”

“I still believe that when it comes to nuclear non-proliferation, there is no alternative to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Those who think otherwise simply fool themselves. This is why, as coordinator, I continue working towards restoring the JCPOA based on the results of the Vienna negotiations,” Borrell wrote in a blog post on the EU External Action’s website on Friday.

“I talked long with Minister Abdollahian about that. I also stressed that bringing the JCPOA back to life does not happen in a strategic vacuum. It is part, a key part, of a broader picture,” he continued.

The “strategic vacuum,” as the EU foreign policy chief put it, must go away, but by whom?

Iran has been consistently in line with its demands, its red lines, and doesn’t rule out diplomacy. Yet the reluctance by the U.S. during the past months, due to them having “other priorities,” has put the talks in a state of limbo.

Everything, well, almost everything is ready to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. There is a draft on the table; there is a party actively engaged in diplomacy with other parties who exchanges messages, namely, Iran. There is one minor flaw, though. Washington lacks the political will to make a tough decision to put to rest all the arguments.