Joe Biden will be lobbied hard by the anti-Iran crowd – he must simply tune out and pursue a deal

Iranian elections in June create a tight window for a possible return to the nuclear deal but the benefits of doing so are tangible for both parties, writes Borzou Daragahi

President-elect Joe Biden will be keen to resolve the souring relationship between the US and Iran (AP)

Their lips mouth the words of diplomacy – but their convoluted arguments can only lead to deadlock, confrontation, and even war.

As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office on 20 January, high on his foreign policy agenda will be unraveling the mess that is the relationship between America and Iran. He and his Secretary of State-designate Anthony Blinken will have their work cut out. Iranian elections in June create a tight window for a possible return to the nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which would include negotiations with some of the same pragmatist players in Tehran – figures like Mohammad Javad Zarif and Abbas Araqchi – who hammered out the original deal under Barack Obama.  

Biden will be lobbied hard by the same influential clique of Washington insiders and foreign operatives who have managed to get their tentacles deep into the policymaking apparatus under the departing Donald Trump.