The Biden administration's envoy to Iran says a deal to revive a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers is not dead, but Washington is skeptical Tehran is "prepared or able" to reach an agreement after it backed away from "a golden opportunity" in September to finalize an accord and then threw its support behind Moscow in its war against Ukraine.
Robert Malley, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda in an interview on December 22 that the negotiations reached a point in September where "we even thought for a day or two that Iran was on board," until Tehran tacked on new demands at the last minute that scuppered the chances of moving forward.
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U.S. Envoy: Nuclear Deal With Iran Is Not Dead
Malley said that nationwide protests in Iran over the death of a young woman soon after she was arrested for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly, along with Tehran's support for Russia in its war against Ukraine, have overtaken much of the diplomatic focus in Washington.
"They're the ones who killed the opportunity for a swift and immediate return to the JCPOA. Since then, things have happened. But nothing has happened that has changed our very strong skepticism that Iran is prepared or able to reach a nuclear deal," he said.
The accord, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), collapsed in 2018 when then-U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal and reimposed crippling sanctions that have battered Iran's economy and its currency.
After Washington withdrew, Iran -- which the United States has labeled a terrorist state -- began to breach some of the pact's nuclear limits saying they could no longer be enforced.
Despite a viral social-media video where U.S. President Joe Biden told an Iranian protester on the sidelines of an election rally in California on November 4 that the JCPOA "is dead, but we are not going to announce it," Iran's foreign minister and top nuclear negotiator met with the European Union's foreign policy chief and the bloc's official who is coordinating nuclear talks with Iran in Jordan on December 20.
No details of the meeting were released but the report raised hopes in some corners that there once again could be some movement toward a deal.
Malley also slammed Iran's leadership for selling hundreds of deadly kamikaze drones to Moscow, which invaded Ukraine in late February.
Moscow has used the aircraft to target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, especially its energy installations in what some Western leaders have called the "weaponization" of Ukraine's harsh winter conditions to hurt civilians.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on December 20 that Russia intended to give Iran advanced military components in exchange for hundreds more drones. Tehran has said the drones were delivered to Russia before the invasion.
"No country is doing more today to help in Russia's losing, illegal war against Ukraine and that's something I think Iran should think long and hard about," Malley said.
The September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, which officials blamed on a heart attack, has touched off a wave of anti-government protests in cities across the country -- the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution. The authorities have met the unrest with a harsh crackdown that rights groups say has killed more than 400 people, including 62 children.
Officials, who have blamed the West for the demonstrations, have vowed to crack down even harder on protesters, with the judiciary leading the way after the unrest entered a fourth month.
Malley applauded Iranians for rising up to demand their rights, saying their courage has "put a spotlight" on what is happening in Iran.
"We see the protests for what they are: which is a very profound, courageous expression by the Iranian people of a demand for respect for their fundamental rights," he said, adding the U.S. administration has been working with tech companies to try and help ensure the flow of communications in Iran amid the regime's attempts to hinder Internet access to help quell the unrest.
"The regime cannot hide what it has been doing to its people," Malley said.
Malley also said Washington continued to have "interaction" with Iranian officials as it tries to bring back U.S. citizens who are being "unjustly detained" in the Middle Eastern country.
He said that remains a priority for the Biden administration "regardless what is happening in our relationship with Iran."
According to The Washington Post, three Americans -- business executives Siamak Namazi and Emad Shargi and environmentalist Morad Tahbz -- are serving 10-year prison sentences in Iran on spying charges.