IRAN
US Special Envoy Malley is currently leading an interagency delegation to the eighth round of talks in Vienna. According to Ned Price, US State Department spokesman, it is too early “to say how substantive that progress may have been. At a minimum, any progress, we believe, is falling short of Iran’s accelerating nuclear steps and is far too slow.” In contrast to Washington’s appraisal, both Iran and Russia have stated in positive terms that the talks are going at the right speed. Iran has yet to return to talks with a more constructive approach for this week’s talks although Tehran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian claimed Iran showed “good faith” in renegotiating the 2015 nuclear agreement. In response to a reporter’s question about why the Biden Administration continues to state it is “too soon” to expect progress, Price said that President Biden “will not allow Iran to possess a nuclear weapon.” He did not provide any details about how the Administration planned to accomplish the goal other than for Iran to comply before lifting sanctions.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
The Biden administration says its diplomatic approach on Ukraine has been “clear and consistent” between two tracks: deterrence and diplomacy. “We are unified as a NATO Alliance on the consequences Russia would face if it moves on Ukraine, but we’re also unified in our willingness to engage in principled diplomacy with Russia,” according to a State Department official. The US will begin talk with Russia in the Strategic Stability Dialogue on January 10th followed by Russia and NATO discussions under a Russia-NATO – NATO-Russia Council meeting on the 12th and an OSCE meeting a day later.
SAUDI ARABIA
There have been more than 375 cross-border attacks 2021 by the Houthi that have endangered Saudi Arabians and the 70,000 U.S. citizens residing there. The Secretary of Defense said in December that with American support Saudi Arabia has been able to knock down 90 percent of those attacks. The US goal, according to Price, “is to see to it that that number rises to 100 percent.” He added that “… we will continue to hold the Houthis accountable for their reprehensible actions… [and] have taken an approach that is targeting those Houthi leaders who are responsible not only for these attacks but also the other malign activities for which the Houthis are responsible.” The Biden Administration condemned the recent escalation of Houthi attacks along the Saudi border. On Christmas Day an official from the Saudi-led coalition said the border town of Jizan was attacked, resulting in the death of two and injury to seven residents.
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The Biden Administration has been accused of “strategic patience” when it comes to dealing with North Korea. In response a State Department official said the Administration “undertook a policy review of our approach to the DPRK.” According to the official, “We’ve made clear in recent months that we harbor no hostile intent toward the DPRK.” The current Administration has reached out to South Korean officials, Japan, and others to ask how to engage North Korea in what an official called a “calibrated, practical approach.”
AFGHANISTAN
Secretary of State Tony Blinken in a press conference last week said: “The last time I was in this briefing room, I faced some appropriate questions about our ability to continue to facilitate the departure of American citizens and others [in Afghanistan] to whom we have a special commitment.” He suggested that since he last spoke to reporters the US has “made good” on its pledge to help any US citizens leave Afghanistan. He put the number receiving assistance since September 1 at close to 500 people. The State Department reports that US taxpayers will be paying to resettle 95,00 people in the US through at least September 2022. Since the end of August, the US has processed over 77,000 Afghans in various locations. Unlike those crossing the border illegally and being dispersed throughout the US, Afghan refugees must be vaccinated before leaving the port of entry.
Photo: Pixabay
DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government.