Biden copies Trump’s hardline stance on Iran as hopes of reviving Obama deal fade

President Biden’s hopes of reviving the deal brokered with Iran by Barack Obama have faded, as it was claimed the Islamic regime is just weeks off having sufficient nuclear material to build its first atom bomb.

The president had hoped to revive the peace deal struck by Obama in 2015 as recently as summer.

That deal eased sanctions on Iran in return for a curtailment of nuclear weapons activity. It was axed by Donald Trump in 2018 over fears Iran was breaking its promises not to develop the bombs it had previously vowed to destroy Israel with. 

On Thursday, The New York Times reported Biden’s hopes of reviving peace talks with Iran have ‘all but died’, with the president imposing fresh sanctions on Iran, while backing anti-government protests in a move that has infuriated leaders there.

Iran also has supplied Russia with drones to help in its war against US-backed Ukraine, and is even suspected of working to produce missiles for Putin’s regime. 

If that suspicion is confirmed, it could even risk triggering a US-Russia conflict. 

The White House’s hopes of reviving an Obama-era deal with Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenenei (right) have faded to nothing, it has been reported. Iran is now feared to be just weeks off having sufficient material to build a nuclear bomb, although construction of such a weapon would take around two years 

Russia has not disrupted the supply of western arms into Ukraine, and would likely take a dim view of the US and its allies if they worked to disrupt Iranian weapons being delivered to Kremlin-backed troops. 

The Times reported that White House meetings are now focused on curtailing Iran’s nuclear plans as it’s claimed the country is just weeks off obtaining sufficient nuclear material to build a bomb.

Much of that material has been transported to a hardened underground facility called Fordaw, it is claimed, which only the most powerful US bunker-busting bombs could penetrate. 

The US has further infuriated Iran by supporting anti-government protesters trying to overthrow the country’s hardline Islamic government. A pro-Iran protester is pictured at the UN headquarters in NYC on November 18 

Any such bomb would likely take at least two years to construct, with Iran’s leaders frequently vowing to obliterate US ally Israel if they are ever in a position to do so.

Attempts by the International Atomic Agency to engage with Iran broke down after its demands for access to sites suspects of producing nuclear material were rebuffed.  

Middle East expert Henry Rome, from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told the Times: ‘Imagine telling the incoming administration in January 2021 that within two years, Iran would be enriching to near weapons-grade uranium at Fordow, deploying its most advanced centrifuges in large numbers, accepting severely limited international monitoring, accumulating multiple bombs’ worth of highly enriched uranium and rejecting diplomatic efforts.

‘That’s not quite a worst-case scenario, but it’s pretty close.’

And State Department special envoy for Iran relations Robert Malley accused Iran of getting caught in a series of ‘vicious cycles’ that was further isolating it and worsening the chances of a conflict with the US and its allies.

In 2018, President Trump scrapped the deal drawn up by his predecessor President Obama in 2015. He said Iran wasn’t fulfilling its promises not to gather material for nuclear weapons. Obama agreed to ease sanctions on Iran in return for promises not to develop nuclear weapons

He explained: ‘The repression fuels more protests. The protests trigger more repression. 

‘The alliance with Russia only further isolates Iran, which prompts it to double down on this alliance for lack of any other partner.’

US intelligence officials are also said to have briefed the president that reviving the deal was unpopular among Iranian government officials. 

They’re said to be unhappy at the prospect of having to dump nuclear material they’ve acquired in the four years since Trump ended the deal. 

Iran’s violent and frequently deadly crackdown on women’s rights protesters has further soured the US on reviving the deal.

And its government’s support for Russia hampered attempts to revive the peace deal even more. 

The White House is now said to be actively working towards disrupting supply chains of military equipment traveling between Iran and Russia.

They’re also working to support pro-democracy protesters in their attempts to undermine the country’s draconian Islamic regime. 

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed: ‘There is no diplomacy right now underway with respect to the Iran deal.

‘We are at an impasse right now, and we’re not focused on that.’