Blinken warns Iran’s nuclear ‘breakout time’ could come to weeks
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday Iran’s intention to get back into compliance with its 2015 nuclear deal is unclear and warned if the country continues to not stick with the deal, the time required for Iran to produce a nuclear weapon will shrink to weeks.
"It remains unclear whether Iran is willing and prepared to do what it needs to do come back into compliance," Blinken told lawmakers.
"Meanwhile, its program is galloping forward ... The longer this goes on, the more the breakout time gets down,” Blinken added, noting it is now down to “a few months at best.”
“If this continues, it will get down to a matter of weeks — exactly what we’ve sought to avoid and what the agreement stopped,” the secretary of state noted.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said in a tweet on Monday, “It remains unclear whether the president of Unites States and secretary of state Blinken are ready to bury the failed ‘maximum pressure’ policy of Trump and [former secretary of state] Pompeo, and cease using economic terrorism as a bargaining ‘leverage.’”
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani last week said the main issues with the United States over reviving the nuclear deal have been resolved and sanctions could be lifted in his last months in office if there is the "will" in Iran.
Negotiations between the remaining signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal – Iran, Russia, China, UK, France, and Germany – began in early April to find a route for the United States to rejoin the accord, lifting sanctions, and for Iran to return to full compliance with its nuclear obligations. Its fifth and latest round of talks ended on June 2.
Former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the landmark nuclear accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2018 and began a “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions in a bid to force Tehran to make a new deal that would also address its ballistic missile program and regional activities.
Under the sanctions, Iran has steadily walked back on its nuclear commitments and is now enriching uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67 percent limit set in the agreement.
Iran has said it would return to its commitments under the deal, but only in exchange for a full lift on US sanctions.
The spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said in late May that "significant progress" has been made in talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal in Vienna, acknowledging that some “key issues remain” and the process should not be rushed.
"It remains unclear whether Iran is willing and prepared to do what it needs to do come back into compliance," Blinken told lawmakers.
"Meanwhile, its program is galloping forward ... The longer this goes on, the more the breakout time gets down,” Blinken added, noting it is now down to “a few months at best.”
“If this continues, it will get down to a matter of weeks — exactly what we’ve sought to avoid and what the agreement stopped,” the secretary of state noted.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said in a tweet on Monday, “It remains unclear whether the president of Unites States and secretary of state Blinken are ready to bury the failed ‘maximum pressure’ policy of Trump and [former secretary of state] Pompeo, and cease using economic terrorism as a bargaining ‘leverage.’”
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani last week said the main issues with the United States over reviving the nuclear deal have been resolved and sanctions could be lifted in his last months in office if there is the "will" in Iran.
Negotiations between the remaining signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal – Iran, Russia, China, UK, France, and Germany – began in early April to find a route for the United States to rejoin the accord, lifting sanctions, and for Iran to return to full compliance with its nuclear obligations. Its fifth and latest round of talks ended on June 2.
Former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the landmark nuclear accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2018 and began a “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions in a bid to force Tehran to make a new deal that would also address its ballistic missile program and regional activities.
Under the sanctions, Iran has steadily walked back on its nuclear commitments and is now enriching uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67 percent limit set in the agreement.
Iran has said it would return to its commitments under the deal, but only in exchange for a full lift on US sanctions.
The spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said in late May that "significant progress" has been made in talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal in Vienna, acknowledging that some “key issues remain” and the process should not be rushed.