United States preparing ‘additional measures’ against Iran, warns Biden

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden warned Thursday that the United States was preparing “additional measures” against Iran as expectations grow that talks on halting Tehran´s nuclear program are set for failure.

“The president has asked his team to be prepared in the event that diplomacy fails and we must turn to other options,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said as troubled negotiations with Iran resumed in Vienna.

“We will have no choice but to take additional measures,” she added.At the Pentagon, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Israeli counterpart Benny Gantz, and both sides said they would expand cooperation in the face of the Iranian “threat.”

“I´m deeply concerned about the Iranian government´s nuclear actions in recent months, both its continued provocations and its lack of constructive diplomatic engagement,” said Austin.

International diplomats restarted the talks on Iran´s nuclear programme Thursday for what the chair of the negotiations called a “difficult endeavour” to revive the 2015 deal between Iran and world powers, which Biden´s predecessor Donald Trump summarily withdrew from.

The latest round of talks began last week and were paused on December 3 with Western participants accusing Iran of going back on progress made earlier this year.Bilateral meetings as well as expert working groups are expected to continue this week.

Russia´s ambassador to the UN in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov told the TASS agency that Thursday´s talks had “removed a number of misunderstandings that had created some tension,” but did not elaborate. For their part Iranian officials have insisted they are “serious about the talks.”But the sense in Washington, as Biden indicated, is that the new government in Iran is not committed to reaching an agreement.

Meanwhile, experts say, Iran has continued to develop its program, which analysts say aims ultimately at building a nuclear weapon. “All of us seek ... is to ensure that Iran can never acquire a nuclear weapon,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Thursday.“Iran´s escalations of its nuclear activities, the intransigence that it has shown including most recently in Vienna last week, will put to the test whether diplomacy can be able to achieve that mutual return to compliance,” Price said.