WANA (July 19) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken commented on the country’s view of Iran’s new president, saying: “Of course, we are looking to see what policies Iran will pursue, but the reality is that the Supreme Leader of Iran makes the final decisions. Therefore, I cannot say we have high expectations, but we must wait and see what he and his team will do once they take office.”

 

Blinken justified the Biden administration’s policy on Iran, stating that they have sought to pursue nuclear diplomacy with Iran because it could at least resolve one of the existing problems: the potential of a nuclear-armed Iran.

 

The Secretary of State remarked that the agreement reached during the Obama administration concerning Iran’s nuclear program had controlled this program. He said that one of America’s biggest mistakes in recent years was abandoning this agreement, which allowed Iran to escape the restrictions that the U.S. had placed on it.

He then reiterated the U.S.’s repeated accusations against Iran’s nuclear program, claiming that Iran has the capacity to produce the necessary materials for a nuclear weapon in perhaps one or two weeks.

 

Blinken concluded by saying: “Therefore, the first thing we need to see is whether Iran is serious about engagement and actually steps back from what it is doing in its program.”