US national security adviser warns of 'escalating nuclear crisis' with Iran

Jake Sullivan sees returning to the deal as a way to cap Iran’s nuclear programme

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaking in Wilmington, Delaware, November 24, 2020. AFP

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned on Friday of an “escalating nuclear crisis” with Iran as it advances its capabilities in breach of the nuclear agreement made with world powers in 2015.

Mr Sullivan, speaking at an event hosted by the United States Institute for Peace and moderated by former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, advocated a return to the agreement as a means of capping Iran's nuclear programme.

He said that the country's nuclear programme had “advanced dramatically” since the Trump administration abandoned the deal in 2018 and that Iran’s “recklessness” in destabilising activities “has accelerated.”

The senior US official urged a return to the deal as a way "to put Iran's nuclear programme in a box.” That in turn will allow for a "global effort" to take on other challenges posed by the regime, such as ballistic missiles.

He called the goal of returning to the deal a "critical early priority.”

On Friday, the Biden administration was expected to name former negotiator Robert Malley as its Iran envoy. The administration has said that engaging in consultations with European and regional allies on Iran will precede a return to the deal.

But a State Department official told The National that Iran's compliance will be required before such a return. "As the president and Secretary Blinken have said, if Iran comes back into full compliance with its obligations under the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], the United States would do the same thing and then use that as a platform to build a longer and stronger agreement that also addresses other areas of concern," the official said.

US Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told Congress that there is a "long way" to go before a return to the deal.

“I think we’re a long way from there. We would have to see ... what steps Iran actually takes – is prepared to take,” Mr Blinken told Congress.

Following his appointment, Mr Malley is expected to put together a team to negotiate the road map for a possible return with Iran and the P5+1, the group of nations involved in the agreement.

Iran has been in breach of all restrictions under the deal, according to a June report by the International Atomic Energy Agency. That includes its stockpiling of low-enriched uranium, enriching uranium to a purity higher than the 3.67 per cent allowed under the deal and firing up advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges.