U.S. Shot Itself in the Leg by Leaving Iran Nuclear Deal: Russian Diplomat

Russia's lead investigator at the Iran nuclear deal revival talks in Vienna has accused the U.S. of "shooting" itself in the leg by withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action during former President Donald Trump's term.

Mikhail Ulyanov—Russia's permanent representative to the International Organizations in Vienna and the head of the Russian negotiating team—made the remark on Twitter on Tuesday.

"The decision to withdraw from JCPOA was like shooting in one of U.S. legs," Ulyanov wrote on Twitter on Tuesday evening. "It doesn't matter if it was left or right leg."

Ulyanov's tweet was a reply to a post by journalist Laura Rozen, who described Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA as "one of the worst decisions in US foreign policy in the last decade." Rozen wrote: "We were promised a stronger deal...instead, see just the opposite...Iran broken loose."

The seventh road of negotiations in Vienna ended earlier this December, with the parties still unable to reach a common position. Negotiators have been trying to establish a joint text on which a future agreement might be built, re-imposing restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

President Joe Biden came to power vowing to resurrect the agreement signed by President Barack Obama in 2015. The deal capped Iran's uranium enrichment capabilities and stockpile in exchange for international sanctions relief.

Trump, backed by Iran hawks and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pulled the U.S. out of the deal in 2018, dismissing it as a "giant fiction." Trump repeatedly vowed a more comprehensive and restrictive replacement but did not deliver.

In the meantime, Iran expanded its enriched uranium stockpile, spooled up its enrichment capabilities, and began enriching uranium to near-weapons grade.

Iran's breakout time—how long it would take to make a nuclear warhead once the decision to do so is taken—could soon be only a matter of weeks, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Predictions of a quick U.S. return to the deal under Biden proved overly optimistic. The White House refused Tehran's demands for all Trump-era sanctions to be lifted in return for re-imposed limits on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Iranian officials returned to Tehran after the latest round of talks for consultations, frustrating European and American negotiators who have warned that the window for a deal is fast closing.

The U.K., France and Germany—collectively known as the E3 in the JCPOA talks—released a joint statement reading: "We hope that Iran is in a position to resume the talks quickly, and to engage constructively so that talks can move at a faster pace. As we have said, there are weeks not months before the deal's core non-proliferation benefits are lost. We are rapidly reaching the end of the road for this negotiation."

Rob Malley, U.S. special envoy for Iran, told CNN on Tuesday that the failure of talks could prompt a crisis. Malley, who is negotiating indirectly with his Iranian counterparts in Vienna, said he hoped talks would resume "relatively soon," though warned of potentially dire consequences if they broke down.

"At some point in the not-so-distant future, we will have to conclude that the JCPOA is no more, and we'd have to negotiate a wholly new different deal, and of course we'd go through a period of escalating crisis," Malley said.

Iran, he said, appears to be "trying to build leverage by expanding their nuclear program and hoping to use that leverage to get a better deal."

"It won't work," Malley said. "'If they try to build more leverage, number one they will not get a better deal because what we say we're prepared to do is what was negotiated five years ago...their strategy is going to backfire if that is their approach."

Meanwhile, the administration is considering military alternatives to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The New York Times reported this month that the White House reviewed military options after the end of the sixth round of Vienna talks.

Responding to the reports, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told journalists: "Based on the outcome of the last round of talks and the ongoing advancements in Iran's nuclear facilities, we are laying the path for...the groundwork for another path entirely."