Biden in newly surfaced video declares Iran talks ‘dead’

President Biden in a newly released video declared talks on the Iranian nuclear deal “dead,” signaling an end to negotiations his administration took part in after the Trump administration pulled the United States from the international agreement.

The remarks by Biden were made during a political rally on Nov. 4, but only circulated publicly on Tuesday.

“It is dead, but we’re not gonna announce it,” Biden says in the video, first reported by Axios, in response to a public question.

Pressed on Tuesday about the Biden video, the White House acknowledged that the talks are at a stalemate.

“There is no progress happening with respect to the Iran deal, now. We don’t anticipate any progress, anytime in the near future. That’s just not our focus,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.

The president’s remarks came during a campaign event in Oceanside, Calif., on Nov. 4.

The video was posted to Twitter early Tuesday by the account “@DamonMaghsoudi,” who responded to a request for comment by The Hill, saying the video was filmed by Sudi Farokhnia, an activist in Orange County and acting president of Iranian-American Democrats of California.

Farokhnia can be heard on camera asking the president to declare the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) dead.

Kirby said on Tuesday that the White House is not questioning the authenticity of the video and that Biden’s comments are in line with his other public remarks and those of U.S. officials. 

“It’s just not our focus right now, it’s not on our agenda. And that’s exactly what the president was referring to,” he said.

Critics of the nuclear agreement say that a public announcement from the administration declaring the deal as dead is necessary to bring European signatories of the deal on board to reimpose sanctions on Iran.

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell met with his Iranian counterpart in Jordan on Tuesday, saying that the two agreed to keep communication open on reviving the JCPOA “on the basis of Vienna negotiations,” referring to the Austria venue where the parties to the deal — the Americans, Europeans, Russians, Chinese and Iranian diplomats — participate in talks. 

The Biden administration first launched indirect talks with Iran in April 2021, seeking to reverse then-President Trump’s 2018 withdrawal from the JCPOA.

But those talks have largely broken down, with the U.S. accusing Iran of making demands outside the parameters of the original deal.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in September that Iran’s latest response was a “step backward” and that “Iran seems either unwilling or unable to do what is necessary to reach an agreement.” 

Iran began violating the terms of the deal in 2019 in response to sanctions imposed by the Trump administration and has since broken far outside the confines of the deal, setting up its ability to manufacture a nuclear weapon within weeks, according to outside analysts.

Updated at 1:03 p.m.