Let's begin with this point: At a moment in which the civilized world is trying to maximize the isolation of Vladimir Putin's regime, the Biden administration -- which deserves some credit for helping forge this geopolitical unity -- is undermining that pressing project of isolation. John Kerry, the 'climate czar, insists that Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine is a tragic distraction from climate change, an issue on which he is eager to continue working with the Kremlin. This is reminiscent of when he punted on the Chinese Communist Party's ongoing genocide because he evidently has higher priorities:
John Kerry: “I hope that President Putin will help us stay on track with respect to what we need to do for the climate.”pic.twitter.com/uAEkSeqvpj
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) February 24, 2022
Likewise, the Biden State Department has continued using Russia as its conduit to pursue another Obama-style nuclear "deal" with Iran. Imagine still using Russian diplomats -- 'business as usual,' under the current circumstances -- as your negotiators with another anti-American regime, with which the Russian military (and China's) has allied itself. You can't truly treat Russia as a pariah state while you buy its oil and enlist its diplomats for side projects. And this side project is looking increasingly outrageous on its own terms:
*US SET TO LIFT TERRORISM SANCTIONS ON IRAN IN RUSSIAN-NEGOTIATED NUCLEAR DEAL https://t.co/q6VIVIBTkY
— Richard Goldberg (@rich_goldberg) March 2, 2022
Goldberg links to a long thread from a former State Department official who was fired by President Trump after he called Trump unfit for office in the aftermath of the January 6th Capitol riot. Noronha notes that members of the Biden-era negotiating team have quit in protest because the US is giving away the farm to the world's top state sponsor of terrorism:
With talks to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran reaching a critical phase, differences have emerged in the U.S. negotiating team over how tough to be with Tehran and when to walk away, according to people familiar with the negotiations. U.S. officials confirmed over the weekend that Richard Nephew, the deputy special envoy for Iran, has left the team. Mr. Nephew, an architect of previous economic sanctions on Iran, had advocated a tougher posture in the current negotiations, and he hasn’t attended the talks in Vienna since early December. Two other members of the team, which is led by State Department veteran Robert Malley, have stepped back from the talks, the people familiar said, because they also wanted a harder negotiating stance.
Noronha says former colleagues have permitted him to sound the alarm on what the remaining and extremely weak Biden team is doing vis-a-vis Iran, via the Russians. It's disturbing:
3. This is a long and technical thread, but here’s what you should know: the deal being negotiated in Vienna is dangerous to our national security, it is illegal, it is illegitimate, and it in no way serves U.S. interests in either the short or long term.
— Gabriel Noronha (@GLNoronha) March 2, 2022
6. We sanctioned some of the worst people you can possibly imagine under this authority, like Mohsen Rezaei, who was involved in the 1994 AMIA bombing that killed 85 people in Argentina.
— Gabriel Noronha (@GLNoronha) March 2, 2022
He’ll be able to live free of sanctions next week if Malley proceeds. pic.twitter.com/d06iuLw7VM
19.Same for Sepah Bank, sanctioned in 2007 as “the financial linchpin of Iran’s missile procurement network.” That first sanction was lifted by the JCPOA, but Sepah was later sanctioned for their support of the Iranian Ministry of Defense. Now, both sanctions would be lifted.
— Gabriel Noronha (@GLNoronha) March 2, 2022
25.NIOC and NITC were sanctioned under counterterrorism authorities approved by interagency career lawyers, including from DOJ and Treasury. Why? Because they were involved in the funding of terrorism. They never stopped that activity, but sanctions are still getting lifted.
— Gabriel Noronha (@GLNoronha) March 2, 2022
29.Malley has proposed to the Iranians that the U.S. will remove the IRGC from the Foreign Terrorist Organization list & sanctions if the Iranians simply promise to talk to the United States in new negotiations about their “regional activity” (aka terrorism).
— Gabriel Noronha (@GLNoronha) March 2, 2022
This is just a sampling of the US-offered giveaway. And what would the United States get in return for all of these egregious concessions? Basically nothing, per Noronha's sources:
33.Iran won’t make any concessions on its ballistic missile activity, its terrorist activity and support for proxy groups, or taking further hostages from the United States and other countries. But it will get money anyways – lots and lots of money.
— Gabriel Noronha (@GLNoronha) March 2, 2022
— Gabriel Noronha (@GLNoronha) March 2, 2022
Note the points about bypassing Congress entirely, which is what Obama did, given the strong bipartisan opposition at the time. This would be return to the previous, non-extended Obama deal -- which was already fatally flawed -- plus a few hostage releases, which incentivizes more hostage-taking. This sounds too bad to be true, but given this crew, its distressingly plausible, if not likely. And the sourcing here is from insiders. Again, three members of Biden's own negotiating team have resigned, and that's not an accident. Red flags everywhere on this issue.