President of the United States Joe Biden has extended by one year the sanctions regime against Iran imposed by Bill Clinton over 25 years ago.

Information about this is posted on the White House website and sent to the American Congress.

"For these reasons, the national emergency regime (in relation to Iran. -

RT

), announced on March 15, 1995, should continue after March 15, 2021," the document says.

As Biden explained, Tehran's policies and the actions of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) allegedly continue to pose a threat to the economy and security of the United States.

At the same time, the US President claims that Tehran continues to develop new missiles and provide support to terrorist groups.

The regime of national emergency in relation to the Islamic Republic has been in effect since March 15, 1995.

On that day, Bill Clinton, then the US President, blocked a deal between the American company Conoco and the National Iranian Oil Company to explore two oil fields.

On May 8, 1995, the 42nd President of the United States signed a decree completely banning American business from developing hydrocarbon deposits in Iran and purchasing oil from the republic for sale to third countries.

The pretext for the restrictive measures was accusations against Tehran that it allegedly supports terrorist groups.

Later, Washington imposed several packages of sanctions against Iran, including over the development of a nuclear missile program.

These restrictive measures have affected the oil and gas industry, the banking sector and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"Cowardly aggression"

According to experts, Washington's decision to extend the restrictive measures against Tehran is a "technical step".

At the same time, by publicly announcing it, the United States makes it clear that it is not ready to revise its sanctions policy towards Iran, especially against the background of the first serious aggravation of American-Iranian relations after Joe Biden came to the White House, analysts say. 

  • American combat aircraft

  • Reuters

  • © John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Recall that at the end of February, with the approval of the head of the White House, the United States Air Force launched a series of airstrikes on the territory of Eastern Syria.

As explained in the Pentagon, the targets of the American planes were the objects of the Shiite paramilitaries, which, according to the US, are supported by Iran.

The aircraft launched a strike in response to rocket attacks at the Erbil airport (Kurdistan Region of Iraq), where a US military base is located, on February 15, Washington said.

According to Colonel Wayne Marotto, spokesman for the US-led international anti-terrorist coalition, as a result, "one civilian was killed, five civilians were injured, and another soldier of the US Armed Forces was injured."

“This commensurate military response was carried out along with diplomatic measures, including consultations with coalition partners.

The operation sends a clear message: President Biden will protect US and coalition troops, ”Pentagon spokesman John Kirby commented on the strikes.

Damascus called the US Air Force operation "cowardly aggression" that will only exacerbate the situation in the region.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry stressed that Washington violated the principles of international law and the UN Charter.

"The Americans not only grossly violated international law, but again indiscriminately, without presenting evidence, laid the blame for the shelling of their base in Iraq on the Iranian side," said Alexander Vavilov, an expert on the Middle East, professor at Moscow State University, in an interview with RT.

In his opinion, Biden sanctioned the airstrike in order to avoid criticism of opponents for the softness of his policy in the Iranian direction.

“Here the Americans wanted to demonstrate that they remain 'determined and resilient.'

And personally, it was important for Biden to show that he is not softer than Trump and can also be tough, ”Vavilov said.

As the former adviser to the Russian Embassy in Washington for the Middle East, political scientist Vyacheslav Matuzov said in a conversation with RT, the Biden administration's course is aimed at forcing the republic to make concessions on key issues.

To this end, Washington, on the one hand, speaks of its readiness for dialogue and gives appropriate signals, and on the other hand, it demonstrates its determination to conduct military operations against the formations allied to Iran.

“The strike on the territory of Syria occurred at a time when a kind of thaw in relations between the United States and Iran seemed to be outlined.

At the same time, military and political tensions are being escalated around Iran and the importance of negotiations is being declared.

I think this is done specifically to increase pressure on Tehran, ”Matuzov stressed.

"Heavy legacy"

The situation with the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (JCPOA) remains another knot of the US-Iranian contradictions.

Recall that in 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled the country out of the nuclear deal.

In response to such a step by Washington, Tehran stopped fulfilling some of its conditions.

The return of the United States to the JCPOA was one of Joe Biden's campaign promises.

However, after joining the White House, the President of the United States demanded that Tehran fully fulfill its obligations under the agreement without preconditions. 

In mid-February, Biden announced the need to restart the dialogue with Iran in the "5 + 1" format (USA, Russia, China, Great Britain, France), whose work made it possible to conclude a nuclear deal in 2015.

  • Negotiations in the "5 + 1" format on the conclusion of the JCPOA

  • © US Department of State

On March 5, during a press briefing, the head of the State Department's press service, Ned Price, noted that the work of this site should contribute to achieving progress in returning to the nuclear deal.

“For our part, we are ready to conduct direct, honest and principles-based negotiations in the 5 + 1 format with Iran.

In our opinion, it is in this format that these issues should be discussed and resolved if we want to make progress in the mutual return to compliance with the obligations under the JCPOA.

I have nothing more to add, ”Price said.

According to diplomatic sources The Wall Street Journal, the European Union decided to act as a mediator in order to resolve the situation around the aggravated US-Iranian relations.

In particular, Brussels tried to organize a meeting of representatives of both states.

However, Tehran refused to conduct direct negotiations on a nuclear program with the United States.

Also, the Iranian leadership insists on providing guarantees for easing sanctions from Washington.

As the general director of the Center for the Study of Modern Iran, Rajab Safarov, noted in an interview with RT, the European Union is trying to demonstrate its interest in preserving the JCPOA.

However, Tehran understands that the EU is acting in this matter exclusively in the interests of Washington.

“Iran has meticulously fulfilled its obligations under the JCPOA in the hope of the promised lifting of sanctions.

Even after the US withdrew from the deal, Tehran unilaterally continued to comply with it for more than a year.

In my opinion, now, in order to resume normal relations, at least part of the restrictive measures should be lifted from the Islamic republic, "Safarov says.

The expert stated that Washington and Tehran still occupy diametrically opposed and mutually exclusive positions on the issue of returning to the nuclear deal.

“In this situation, it makes sense for the United States to lift all its sanctions imposed after Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA.

In return, Iran returns to fulfill its obligations under the deal.

After that, the United States again becomes a party to the JCPOA.

As a result, no one will lose face.

But it is difficult to predict whether such a compromise will be reached, ”Safarov said.

According to the expert, the United States should take the first steps in normalizing the situation with the JCPOA.

Also, in order to defuse the situation, Washington should publicly admit the erroneousness of Trump's policy, since it endangered the security of the Middle East region and the American troops stationed there, Safarov believes.

Alexander Vavilov adheres to a similar point of view.

According to the expert, the weakening of pressure on Iran will allow restarting the dialogue with Tehran on the JCPOA and other controversial issues. 

“Trump left a heavy legacy in relations with Iran, and now Biden is in a rather difficult position.

As a result, we are seeing contradictory steps by the new administration.

It remains to be hoped that Biden's team will find reasonable people who will take into account the experience of their predecessor's mistakes and begin to resolve crises at the negotiating table, ”concluded Vavilov.