President Joe Biden admitted the Iran nuclear deal is “dead” but said he had no plans to formally announce it in a newly-released recording from early November.
Biden made the comments during a campaign event in California on Nov. 4 ahead of last month’s midterm elections. While being questioned by apparent Iranian-American protesters, Biden refused to publicly declare the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA), colloquially known as the Iran nuclear deal, was dead.
“President Biden, could you please announce that JCPOA is dead? Can you just announce that?” a woman is heard asking.
“No,” Biden answers. “No. A lot of reasons. It is dead, but we are not going to announce it — long story. We’re going to make sure –” Biden said when the woman asked why, before he was cut off by another questioner.
بایدن: برجام مُرده.
در ویدئویی که به دستم رسیده، بایدن صریحاً می‌گوید به #برجام بازنمی‌گردد، ولی دولت آمریکا فعلاً اعلام نخواهد کرد.
این ویدئو که برای اولین بار منتشر می‌شود، حاشیه‌ی رویداد انتخاباتی ۴ نوامبر در کالیفرنیا را نشان می‌دهد.
با زیرنویس فارسی و انگلیسی#انقلاب۱۴۰۱ pic.twitter.com/OerHZav9Kb
— دامون مقصودی (@DamonMaghsoudi) December 20, 2022
The video was posted by a Twitter user named Damon Maghsoudi, who claims to be a Google employee living in California. The White House has not disputed the authenticity of the clip. (RELATED: US Leaving The Door Open For Iran Nuclear Deal While Accusing The Country Of ‘Exporting Terrorism’)
Biden administration officials have been careful not to declare that the Iran deal is dead or that they are no longer working toward a revival, even as negotiations ground to a halt earlier this year. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said Tuesday the JCPOA wasn’t the White House’s “focus” right now and that he doesn’t have any progress to report right now and doesn’t expect there to be progress in the near future.
“The Iran deal is not our focus right now,” White House NSC spokesman John Kirby says on briefing call with reporters.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) December 20, 2022
The JCPOA was initially agreed to under the Obama administration, while Biden was vice president, before former President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal in 2018, promising to forge something better. He did not, and Biden pledged to try and return the U.S. to the deal, but has so far been unsuccessful.