US foreign policy team sends confusing signals about Iran: Analyst  

The current US foreign policy team is "rife with dissension and sends confusing signals" about Iran, an American political commentator in Oregon has said.

In an interview with Press TV on Friday, Charles Dunaway said that there are hard-core Zionist neocons embedded in key roles in the State Department and White House who will do everything in their power to undermine President Joe Biden if he adopts a more realistic stance on Iran.

As a new round of talks is slated to kick off between Iran and the five remaining parties to the landmark 2015 nuclear deal in Vienna, China calls on the United States to "overhaul" its failed “maximum pressure” policy on Iran and remove all "illegal" sanctions it has imposed against Tehran after its unilateral withdrawal from the agreement.

"I’d like to reiterate that, as the culprit of the Iranian nuclear crisis, the US should overhaul its erroneous policy of 'maximum pressure' on Iran, and lift all illegal sanctions on Iran and “long-arm jurisdiction” on third parties," China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular press conference in Beijing on Friday. "On this basis, Iran should resume full compliance," he added.

In a tweet on Thursday, European Union deputy foreign policy chief Enrique Mora said Iran and the five parties to the 2015 agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), would resume anti-Iran sanctions removal talks in Vienna on Monday to "discuss and define the way ahead."

'Overhaul' maximum pressure policy, lift all 'illegal' sanctions on Iran: China to US ahead of new Vienna talks

China says the United States must overhaul its erroneous maximum pressure policy and remove all illegal sanctions against Iran.

Dunaway said, “The Chinese foreign ministry is quite correct that the US should have removed all its sanctions on Iran before beginning these talks on the JCPOA.  That would have restored the treaty in its original form immediately.  After that, the parties could negotiate in good faith about additional matters.”

“One problem left unaddressed is that the US government cannot be trusted to live up to its treaty commitments.  Even the Obama administration, which negotiated the JCPOA, imposed new sanctions in violation of the agreement the next day after the treaty was signed,” he added.

“Because the US has only contempt for international law and for the United Nations, there is no way to hold it accountable for its serial violations of this and many other treaties.  Even if the Biden administration had the integrity and inner strength to drop the sanctions and return to the agreement, the next administration would most likely back out. The pressure of the Israeli lobby would be relentless and few, if any, US politicians have the guts to stand up to them,” he stated.

“The current foreign policy team in the US is also rife with dissension and sends confusing signals. There are hard-core Zionist neocons embedded in key roles in the State Department and White House.  If a more realistic stance is adopted by the President, they will do everything in their power to undermine him. This is evident in the mixed signals being given regarding Ukraine and Taiwan,” he noted.

“Lastly, the nuclear program of Iran is not the real cause of the sanctions. The cause is the desire of the Zionist occupation regime to be unopposed in the region so it can continue to steal Palestinian land and attack its neighbors with impunity.  Even if the JCPOA is revived and Iran returns to compliance, the Israelis will not be satisfied. Their hatred of Iran will continue.  Overcoming the sanctions by trading with nations not subject to US control is the only way forward,” the analyst concluded.

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