Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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Iran's Domestic, Diaspora Critics Differ on How Biden May Counter Tehran's
Objectionable Behavior

Michael Lipin

   WASHINGTON - Prominent Iran-based and Iranian diaspora critics of
   Tehran's Islamist rulers have differing expectations about how far U.S.
   President Joe Biden will go to implement his promised new approach to
   dealing with Iran's objectionable behavior.

   Biden, who took office on Wednesday, has vowed'¯to use diplomacy in
   coordination with U.S. allies to try to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive
   Plan of Action, the 2015 deal in which world powers offered Iranian
   leaders sanctions relief in return for curbs on nuclear activities that
   could be diverted into weapons production.

   Former President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, saying
   it was not tough enough on Iran, and unilaterally tightened U.S.
   sanctions aimed at pressuring Tehran into scrapping its nuclear program
   and other activities deemed a threat to the U.S. and its allies. Tehran
   has vowed to defy what Trump called his "maximum pressure" policy and
   has denied seeking nuclear weapons.

   The Biden administration has said Iran must stop the escalating series
   of JCPOA violations that it began in retaliation for the 2018 pullout
   and return to compliance before the U.S. also returns to the deal.
   Tehran has said Washington should make the first move by easing
   sanctions. Other world powers, including U.S. allies in Europe, have
   called on both the U.S. and Iran to fully recommit to the 2015
   agreement.

   Some of Tehran's Iran-based and Iranian diaspora critics who appeared
   in VOA Persian's TV coverage of Biden's Wednesday inauguration said
   they expect him to be more aligned with European powers than was Trump
   in responding to Iran's nuclear deal violations.

   Ali Vaez, an Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, said Biden
   is likely to take the initiative by signing an executive order
   rescinding Trump's 2018 nuclear deal pullout.

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