Iran Is Misreading the War in Ukraine
The regime in Tehran is mistaken if it believes Russia’s assault will prod the U.S. to seek a nuclear deal and avoid another security crisis.
Overplaying its hand?
Photographer: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
As the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program go down to the wire in Vienna, the regime in Tehran seems to believe its hand has been strengthened by Russia’s assault on Ukraine. The Biden administration, having announced it is prepared to walk away rather than submit to the Islamic Republic’s demands, will soon have its resolve tested.
For the best part of a year, the U.S., along with Russia, China and the European trio of Germany, France and the U.K., have been attempting to resuscitate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear deal they struck with Tehran in 2015. But Iran has been stalling, bogging down the talks with absurd demands even as it races to enrich uranium to levels ever closer to weapons-grade.