The 8th round of negotiations to try and revive the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal are underway in Vienna. Advisor to the Iranian nuclear negotiating team, Professor Mohammad Marandi, says that the negotiations are slow and the EU and US are dragging their feet.

They have tried to reverse gains made in recent weeks. Despite verifying Iran’s compliance, Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018 and slapped a maximum pressure sanctions campaign on the country, claiming he could use it to “get a better deal.” This time, Iran is saying it is the EU and US must be verified, and Iran must be given assurances that the US won’t just withdraw on the “whim of Western leaders”.

Maximum pressure sanctions have bought the Iranian economy to its knees and continue under President Biden. Iran says the objective is to make ordinary people suffer so that they rise up and destabilise the country so that the Americans and Europeans can get their way. And it’s not just Iran. This is a strategy Western powers use in many other countries too.