Joe Biden is taking risks with detainee swap, but US can now test the waters with Tehran on its nuclear programme
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
Iranian-US relations, always one long bargain, are in flux, with currents heading in different directions, some towards confrontation and others towards a de-escalation of tensions. It has been unclear for months whether Joe Biden’s administration favoured one option above the other, or indeed preferred the status quo.
He also faces criticism from less partisan sources. The deal, after all, has been struck at a time when the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, is selling Iranian-made drones to Russia to hammer down on Ukrainian cities. Some in the diaspora feel that by acting so soon after thein a Tehran police cell, the Biden team has shown it puts American self-interest ahead of Iranians’ struggle for human rights.
Israel, an implacable opponent of the 2015 deal, regards this Plan B as disastrous. At least the original deal, before Trump walked out, restricted the purity to which Iran can enrich uranium to 3.67%. The Israeli national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, warned last week that Israel will have no choice but to act if Iran enriches uranium above 60% purity.
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