You cannot, absolutely cannot, make this up.
Watch:
Reporter: "President Biden, would you please announce that JCPOA is dead?"
Biden: "...It is dead, but we're not gonna announce it."
President Austin Powers, ladies and gentlemen:
This was actually from last month and only just surfaced now. But Biden's awkward admission was notable. Some background on what the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was supposed to accomplish:
Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to eliminate its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium, cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98%, and reduce by about two-thirds the number of its gas centrifuges for 13 years. For the next 15 years, Iran agreed to enrich uranium only up to 3.67%. Iran also agreed not to build any new heavy-water facilities for the same period of time. Uranium-enrichment activities will be limited to a single facility using first-generation centrifuges for 10 years. Other facilities will be converted to avoid proliferation risks. To monitor and verify Iran's compliance with the agreement, the International Atomic Energy Agency will have regular access to all Iranian nuclear facilities. The agreement provides that in return for verifiably abiding by its commitments, Iran will receive relief from the U.S., European Union, and United Nations Security Council nuclear-related sanctions.
Unfortunately, the lifting of those sanctions would apparently be too much benefit for Iran for too little in exchange:
[Jason Brodsky, policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran] told Newsweek that Biden's comments "are a reflection of reality" and that the JCPOA, which would rein in Tehran's nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions, "has been dead for some time."
"The non-proliferation benefits that the deal promised are not worth the sanctions relief offered," he said. "The JCPOA is based on a political, geopolitical, and technical reality from 2015 that does not exist anymore. There is also no sustainable political constituency in the United States to keep it alive."
Welp.
I guess we're just waiting on the White House now to actually announce the news and make it official.
