As Time Runs Low at Iran Nuke Talks, White House Focuses Blame On ‘Reckless’ Trump

In recent days, both State Department spokesperson Ned Price and White House spokesperson Jen Psaki have attacked Trump for pulling the US out of the 2015 deal — signed by Iran, the US, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany — that offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

Trump unilaterally withdrew the US in 2018 and reimposed biting sanctions, whereupon Tehran began reneging on its commitments and stepping up its enrichment activities.

The decision to focus on Trump is a deliberate one as the current talks in Vienna aimed at bringing the sides back into the deal head toward a conclusion, the Axios news site reported Wednesday, citing two White House sources, saying the Biden administration wanted to “focus the fire on Trump.”

On Tuesday, Price answered a question on the Vienna talks with a comment on Trump.

“It’s worth spending just a moment on how we got here,” Price said. “It is deeply unfortunate that because of an ill-considered or perhaps unconsidered decision by the previous administration that this administration came into office without these stringent verification and monitoring protocols that were in place.”

Price said the Trump administration promised a better deal “that never came close,” and instead “Iran has been able to gallop forward with its nuclear promise.”

.@PressSec Psaki on Iran:

If former President Trump hadn’t “recklessly pulled out of the nuclear deal,” None of the actions we are seeing from Iran, including the “aggressive actions that they’ve taken through proxy wars around the world,”would be happening. pic.twitter.com/uNTeVjfJdw

— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) January 12, 2022

On Wednesday, Psaki said none of Iran’s “increased capabilities or aggressive actions they have taken through proxy wars around the world” would have advanced if Trump had not “recklessly pulled out of the nuclear deal with no thought as to what might come next.”

Speaking at a press briefing, Psaki said that as a result of Trump’s actions, “Iran’s nuclear program was no longer in a box, no longer had the most robust inspection regime ever negotiated, no longer had the tight restrictions on nuclear activity.”

Axios said the White House was laying the groundwork for the end of talks, when the US would either re-enter the deal or walk away and apply further pressure on Tehran.