President Joe Biden looked to strike a tricky balance on Iran this week, as he attempts to restore the Iran nuclear deal while reassuring allies that Washington can still push back on Tehran’s malign activities.
The two countries have resolved some of the thorniest stumbling blocks in negotiations on reviving the 2015 deal in recent days, and appear headed toward an agreement. But simultaneously, U.S. and Iran-backed forces clashed in Syria this week in several skirmishes that left four militants dead and three U.S. service members wounded.
U.S. officials say the attacks in Syria are not related to negotiations over the Iran deal. But the split screen highlights the challenge the administration faces in making progress on one of its top Middle East priorities — bringing Iran back into compliance with the nuclear deal — while Tehran’s proxies continue to foment violence against the U.S. and its allies in the region.
“Whenever the U.S. and Iran are close to successful negotiations, actors on both sides try to disrupt them,” said Joe Cirincione, a national security expert and author who formerly served as president of the nuclear nonproliferation-focused Ploughshares Fund. He noted that Israel and elements of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are opposed to the deal. “The goal is the same: to create a crisis that would make diplomacy impossible, a deal unobtainable.”
“Whenever the U.S. and Iran are close to successful negotiations, actors on both sides try to disrupt them,” said Joe Cirincione, a national security expert and author who formerly served as president of the nuclear nonproliferation-focused Ploughshares Fund. He noted that Israel and elements of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are opposed to the deal. “The goal is the same: to create a crisis that would make diplomacy impossible, a deal unobtainable.”
Video allegedly shows U.S. airstrikes against Iran-backed groups in SyriaSharePlay Video
In this case, experts said the Biden administration’s strategy — prove it can walk and chew gum at the same time — was effective.
“We defended ourselves immediately and we are still in negotiations,” said Mick Mulroy, a former Pentagon official in the Trump administration.
Even as officials made progress in nuclear negotiations in recent weeks, Iranian proxies have been increasingly active in the region. In Syria, IRGC-directed militants have intensified low-level attacks against U.S. and coalition positions in Syria, Defense Department officials said.
Iran may be trying to use the activity in Syria to gain some leverage in nuclear talks, said Seth Jones, an expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. But more important for Tehran is getting U.S. troops out of the Middle East, where Iran has expanded its influence in recent years, he said.