An Iranian flag is pictured near in a missile during a military drill, with the participation of Iran’s Air Defense units, Iran October 19, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Timothy Gardner and Daphne Psaledakis, Reuters: Analysis: Trump sanctions could give Biden a bargaining chip in deal talks with Iran
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration’s imposition of new sanctions on Iran may have been intended to forestall a new nuclear deal with Tehran if Joe Biden is elected president, but it could backfire instead by strengthening Biden’s hand at the bargaining table.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday slapped counterterrorism sanctions on key players in Iran’s oil sector for supporting the Quds Force, the elite paramilitary arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The move, just before the Nov. 3 U.S. election, followed sanctions on 18 banks in Iran that Washington imposed earlier this month. Biden supports returning to diplomacy with Iran if it comes into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal Washington struck with Tehran and five other world powers.
Doing that could eventually add some 2 million barrels per day of Iranian oil to world markets that had been cinched off by President Donald Trump’s wider unilateral sanctions on the OPEC member.
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 28, 2020
IMF in fiscal policy fantasyland -- Desmond Lachman, The Hill
China: An unpopular winner in the year of the coronavirus -- Hans Spross, DW
How the US and India became brothers in arms -- Jagnnath Panda, Asia Times
North Korea Has at Least 6,000 Hackers (And Might Strike the U.S.) -- Stephen Silver, National Interest
China shocked to discover the developed world views it in a negative light -- Frank Ching, Japan Times
Algeria's Hirak movement won. Now its time is over -- Abed Charef, Middle East Eye
Who Will Win Nagorno-Karabakh? -- Stratfor Worldview
Russia may soon seek regime change in Armenia -- Stephen Bryen, Asia Times
Has Putin Lost His Mojo? -- Nina Krushcheva, Project Syndicate
Why Obama’s Raw Attacks on Donald Trump Could Backfire -- Rachel Bucchino, National Interest
The spectre of pension failures haunts this US election -- Karen Friedman, The Hill
If Biden wins what would the first 100 days of his presidency look like? -- Daniel Strauss and Julian Borger, The Guardian
Exclusive: Biden, if elected, would consult allies on future of U.S. tariffs on China - advisers -- Matt Spetalnick and Trevor Hunnicutt, Reuters