TEHRAN (Bazaar) – Professor Paul Pillar, who was CIA intelligence analyst for 28 years, says Israel does not make sense for the lead complainer about Iran's nuclear activity to be a state that has what observers throughout the world regard as a nuclear weapons arsenal, one that Israel developed totally outside any international inspection or control regime.
Pillar told Bazaar news agency that U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 was sufficient to release Iran from its obligations under the agreement.
Following is the text of the interview:
Q: The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration has not made any decision to suspend efforts to reach an agreement with Iran on the nuclear issue. According to these American officials, the preoccupation of the Biden administration with domestic issues has left little time to reach a final agreement with Iran. What is the meaning of the last word?
A: I think the administration would be happy to see the current stalemate drag out beyond the mid-term elections. It probably does not see conclusion of a new JCPOA agreement as much, if any, of a net positive for Democratic candidates in the election. No matter what are the terms of an agreement, it would be one more thing that the Republicans would misrepresent and make into a line of attack.
Q: Is it possible to revive the JCPOA before the US Congress mid-term elections?
A: It is possible, but per my previous answer I do not believe the administration will put a lot of energy into doing so.
Q: Iran has announced that Tehran has fully cooperated regarding the three locations alleged by the agency and has sent information and answers to the agency's questions and held dialogue sessions to resolve the ambiguity. What is your assessment?
A: It depends on the nature of the answers and whether the IAEA regards them as acceptable. The issue is not closed yet.
Q: Israel is not a member of the NPT and has nuclear weapons and continues to comment on Iran's nuclear issue. Meanwhile, according to the agency's report, Iran's cooperation is under the NPT. What is your assessment of Israel's provocations?
A: Israel has gotten away with this for a long time. Of course, it does not make sense for the lead complainer about Iran's nuclear activity to be a state that has what observers throughout the world regard as a nuclear weapons arsenal, one that Israel developed totally outside any international inspection or control regime.
Q: Even though Iran has withdrawn from some of its JCPOA commitments following the violation of the JCPOA by the United States, those commitments were under the JCPOA that the other party did not fulfill, and Europe also did not make any effort to benefit Iran economically, and the financial channel of INSTEX did not operate either. Therefore, even if the JCPOA is not revived, Iran's nuclear activities have not been in violation of the NPT. What is your assessment?
A: The Trump administration's reneging on the agreement, totally abandoning the US obligations under the accord, in 2018 was sufficient to release Iran from its obligations under the JCPOA, even without getting into the subject of commercial and financial relations with Europe. The release is a matter not only of what could be considered the common law of international agreements; the text of the JCPOA explicitly states that Iran would be released from its obligations if other parties did not live up to theirs.
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