Dozens of Diplomats Urge Biden to End Diplomacy with Iran

Dozens of former senior U.S. diplomats wrote a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday, urging him to halt all diplomatic efforts with Iran. According to Fox News, this request was made on the fifth anniversary of former President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the JCPOA. The JCPOA was signed during the presidency of Barack Obama, and Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from it. The letter states that Biden's current strategy of reducing sanctions in exchange for good behavior from the Islamic Republic of Iran is dangerous. The diplomats argue that this policy is perilous as it becomes dependent on 'the preferences of the Islamic Republic of Iran.' The signatories of the letter ask Biden and his team to 'stop all diplomatic efforts regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran and instead reapply the 'maximum pressure' campaign.' They assert that maximum pressure is 'the only effective policy to protect the people of America, the people of Iran, and others in the region and the world from the threats of the Islamic Republic.' 'Maximum pressure' is a policy that the Trump administration used to try to change the behavior of the Islamic Republic by intensifying sanctions against Iran and other measures. Several U.S. officials, such as Robert Malley, have previously stated that this policy did not work. The Biden administration has also imposed new sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Iran has transferred seized tankers to 'south of Bandar Abbas.'