USA: Iran Sanctions Will Be Suspended for a Long Time, Not Ended

Antony Blinken, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, referred to the nuclear negotiations with Iran during a meeting of the "American Jewish Committee" and stated that if we abandon diplomacy and increase pressure, we will not achieve much success. On Monday, June 8, at the "AJC" conference held in Washington, he said: "There is a lot of talk these days about the negotiations we have regarding Iran's nuclear file. It must be said that some of these statements are incorrect and some are more myth than reality." The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State outlined the main points related to the negotiations for a nuclear agreement with Iran, stating: "First, it should be said that the agreement we are negotiating does not have an expiration date. It is not the case that there is a sunset and one day it will end. Different parts of this agreement have different time frames." He added: "Iran's obligation to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to not build a nuclear bomb and also rigorous inspections under the Additional Protocol will be continuous and ongoing." Blinken said: "On the other hand, if we do not reach an agreement, those aspects that we reached under the cooperation agreement (Lausanne) will quickly expire, and then Iran will likely rapidly pursue the industrialization phase of its nuclear program with tens of thousands of centrifuges." The Deputy Secretary of State, whose speech video was published on the U.S. State Department's Twitter, added: "Second, this (potential) agreement will create a level of transparency such that if Iran violates its commitments to the international community, we will be aware of it and will have enough opportunity to respond either diplomatically or through other means." Blinken stated: "(If a final agreement is reached) most of Iran's sanctions will be suspended for a long time, not ended, and if Iran violates its commitments, they will automatically be reactivated." He added: "Third, we will not agree to any deal unless the International Atomic Energy Agency has conducted all its inspections of every site (facility) in Iran and declares that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful." The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State said: "Fourth, there is no suitable alternative to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb other than the conditions we have set and agreed upon in Lausanne." Regarding the discussion of "either increasing sanctions or military action," Antony Blinken responded to two views regarding Iran's nuclear activities that suggest pressure should be increased for a better agreement or that military action should be taken immediately, stating that the current agreement is more successful than either of these scenarios. The Deputy Secretary of State said: "I must say that unfortunately a narrative has been put forth that if we continue to increase pressure on Iran and impose more sanctions, Iran will eventually agree to everything we want." Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, during a speech he gave in the U.S. Congress, stated that sanctions should be increased on Iran to yield a good agreement. Blinken added: "Iran, after the damages of the war with Iraq and despite increased pressures over the past 10 years, has gone from 150 centrifuges in 2002 to 19,000 centrifuges before reaching the preliminary agreement." The Deputy Secretary of State said: "Our international allies who joined us in these sanctions will not agree to such a plan (increasing sanctions on Iran). They joined the sanctions to bring Iran to the negotiating table and to reach an agreement that meets our security interests, not to force Iran to abandon its peaceful nuclear program." He stated: "So far, we have kept other countries on board, and despite the economic pressure some of them have faced, they have remained with us. The main reason for this is that they have been convinced that we (the U.S.) are serious about diplomacy and want to reach a diplomatic understanding. If they lose this belief about us (the U.S.), it is the U.S. that will face the risk of isolation, not Iran. And of course, the structure of the sanctions we have worked on will collapse and be lost." The Deputy Secretary of State said: "And to those who say that we should take military action right now without trying for a diplomatic solution, it should be noted that such action would first of all dismantle the coalition of international sanctions against Iran. And second, at best, it would only delay Iran's nuclear program for a few years, and likely Iran would establish a nuclear program underground and rapidly move towards building a nuclear bomb." Antony Blinken added: "With the comprehensive agreement we are trying to achieve, we have the capacity to achieve goals far beyond this."