U.S. raises concern over Iran talks

Special envoy points to Tehran’s inflexibility on diplomacy

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Monday that diplomatic efforts to get Iran back to nuclear negotiations are at a “critical place” and that international patience with Iranian delays in returning to the talks is “wearing thin.”

The U. S. special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, told reporters there is a “deep and growing” concern about Iran’s continued intransigence and refusal to commit to a date to resume the negotiations in Vienna.

Malley said the U.S. and its partners still want a diplomatic solution to bring both America and Iran back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal from which former President Donald Trump withdrew. But, he said they are considering alternatives to the diplomatic path, although a decision will be dependent on Iran’s actions.

“We’re in a critical place,” he said, noting that the Vienna talks were suspended after a sixth round in June because of Iran’s elections and that new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has had plenty of time since taking office in August to decide on a policy.

“At this point it’s hard to find an innocent explanation as to why it’s taking so long,” Malley said. “The ‘Plan B’ being implemented right now appears to be the Iranian one, and that’s something we have to be prepared for.”

His comments follow a series of high-level meetings in Washington, the Gulf and Europe about how to proceed in the effort to get Iran back to the table for serious discussions on how to limit its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Malley met Friday with European officials in Paris after which France urged Iran to curb nuclear activities of “unprecedented gravity.” Those talks came after meetings he held with Gulf Arab states earlier last week.

Malley’s travels came after a series of high-level meetings in Washington between senior Biden administration officials and the foreign ministers of Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union’s diplomatic chief.

They have warned that Iran will face greater international isolation, new economic penalties and possibly military action if it does not return to the Vienna talks.

The consensus comes amid growing concerns that Tehran is not serious about returning to the negotiations. It also comes as the Biden administration, which had made rejoining the accord a priority in its first months in office, and others, have become increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for such negotiations even if they do resume.

Also Monday, U. S. officials say they believe Iran was behind the drone attack last week at the military outpost in southern Syria where American troops are based.

Officials said the U.S. believes that Iran resourced and encouraged the attack, but that the drones were not launched from Iran. They were Iranian drones, and Iran appears to have facilitated their use, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not been made public.

Officials said they believe the attacks involved as many as five drones laden with explosive charges, and that they hit both the U.S. side of al-Tanf garrison and the side where Syrian opposition forces stay.

There were no reported injuries or deaths as a result of the attack.

U.S. and coalition troops are based at al-Tanf to train Syrian forces on patrols to counter Islamic State militants. The base is also located on a road serving as a vital link for Iranian-backed forces from Tehran all the way to southern Lebanon and Israel.