US Iranian Envoy Praises Biden, Urges Continuity

United States Special Envoy for Iran Elliott Abrams on Wednesday revealed plans for a further tightening of sanctions on Tehran in the remaining weeks of President Donald Trump’s administration. “All through December and January, there will be sanctions that deal with arms … weapons of mass destruction … human rights. Right until the end,” Abrams promised. The outgoing diplomat also praised President-elect Joe Biden’s nominees for national security adviser and secretary of state, Jake Sullivan and Antony Blinken, as “terrific” but at the same time cautioned the new team of making the “tragic and foolish” mistake of quickly removing all sanctions imposed by Washington so far. Biden “has a great opportunity” to strike a deal with Iran because “there is so much leverage on [it],” Abrams insisted. While Biden has reiterated in recent weeks his intentions of renegotiating and rejoining the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed with Iran in 2015, Tehran has signaled it will not easily be enticed to join the pact and halt its nuclear program, after the US’s withdrawal from it in 2018.