Zack, Jenn, and Alex break down why the Biden administration hasn’t yet reentered the Iran nuclear deal. They explain that the process of rejoining is more complicated than it might seem, but that it’s still likely the deal will come back eventually. They then debate the pros and cons of rejoining the accord and how well the Obama foreign policy team — many of whom have joined the Biden administration — handled the pact. One point of agreement: The Trump administration’s Iran policy failed.

References:

Alex wrote about the impending US-Iran talks over the nuclear deal.

And he also wrote about Colin Kahl’s under-threat confirmation.

Foreign Policy asks if Biden took too long to reengage Iran.

Jenn noted a Politico magazine story detailing how the Obama administration let a Hezbollah criminal enterprise proceed to help strike the 2015 deal.

Al Jazeera reported on then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s 12 demands on Iran. He achieved none of them.

Vox has a great visual explainer on the Iran deal.

Hosts:
Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox
Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox
Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), White House reporter, Vox
 
Consider contributing to Vox:
If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts
 
More to explore:
Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.
 
About Vox:
Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.
 
Follow Us:
Vox.com 
Newsletter: Vox Sentences
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices