Blinken Refuses to Rule Out Iran Nuclear Deal amid Tehran’s Brutal Crackdowns

The nationwide protest movement against the Iranian dictatorship continues. Large groups of people are taking to the streets, in a show of outrage about the murder of Mahsa Amini, and Iranian security forces have, in more than one case, resorted to indiscriminate violence. The New York Times recently ran a revealing investigation into one particularly horrifying massacre at a prayer complex in an ethnically Baluch part of the country.

Although Washington is willing to take certain steps to support the demonstrators — such as making a few targeted sanctions designations and making it easier for people to provide them with communications technology — officials remain unwilling to abandon the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran. A potential agreement would effectively result in massive transfers of funds, potentially in the hundreds of billions of dollars, to Iran’s rulers. In short, officials are taking the side of the protesters rhetorically, but without following all the way through on implementing a maximalist support program.

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Jimmy Quinn

Jimmy Quinn is the former national security correspondent for National Review.

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The nationwide protest movement against the Iranian dictatorship continues. Large groups of people are taking to the streets, in a show of outrage about the murder of Mahsa Amini, and Iranian security forces have, in more than one case, resorted to indiscriminate violence. The New York Times recently ran a revealing investigation into one particularly horrifying massacre at a prayer complex in an ethnically Baluch part of the country.

Although Washington is willing to take certain steps to support the demonstrators — such as making a few targeted sanctions designations and making it easier for people to provide them with communications technology — officials remain unwilling to abandon the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran. A potential agreement would effectively result in massive transfers of funds, potentially in the hundreds of billions of dollars, to Iran’s rulers. In short, officials are taking the side of the protesters rhetorically, but without following all the way through on implementing a maximalist support program.