The Biden Administration, which is continuing its attempts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, intends to toughen the enforcement of economic sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic, the Wall Street Journal reported today (Thursday).
State Department officials said that a delegation would leave for the United Arab Emirates, one of Iran's main trading partners in the Middle East, to warn banks in the UAE which are not in compliance with US sanctions on Iran.
Officials who spoke to the Wall Street Journal added that if no progress was made in the talks, the visit to the UAE would be the first in a series of visits to other countries that have economic ties with Iran, with the aim of increasing pressure on Tehran and enforcing sanctions. including Malaysia, Turkey and China, which is Iran's largest trading partner.
The Administration's tougher stance on Iran comes as negotiations in Vienna over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program have stalled again after resuming last week.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Iran of being "not serious" about returning to the nuclear deal.
“What we’ve seen in the last couple of days is that Iran, right now, does not seem to be serious about doing what’s necessary to return to compliance, which is why we ended this round of talks in Vienna," Blinken said during the Reuters Next conference.
He warned that the United States would not let Iran drag out the process while continuing to advance its nuclear program and stressed that Washington will pursue other options if diplomacy fails.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz took off this morning for a visit to Washington, where he will meet with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Gantz will be joined by Mossad chief David Barnea. The Iranian threat is expected to be the main subject of discussion during Gantz's visit.