Negotiations on the Iranian nuclear agreement have reached an impasse, and the United States will take action to strengthen sanctions against Iran

The Paper's reporter Nan Boyi

The U.S. State Department said on December 9 local time that the Biden administration will send a high-level delegation to the United Arab Emirates next week to strengthen sanctions against Iran.

According to Reuters reported on the 9th, the senior delegation sent by the United States to the UAE includes Andrea Gacki, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department, who will warn UAE banks that have business dealings with Iran and inform them that their behavior does not comply with US sanctions. A State Department spokesman said the U.S. has evidence of irregularities by the relevant UAE banks, which could be sanctioned or punished for their dealings with Iran in the future.

Although the UAE is an ally with the United States, Iran ranked fourth among the country's re-export partners in the first nine months of this year according to the UAE trade data. Long-standing business ties between the two countries remain one of Iran's main ties to the outside world.

So far, negotiations on the resumption of implementation of the JCPOA, which are under way, have made little progress. According to the Wall Street Journal reported on the 9th, if the seventh round of negotiations on the Iranian nuclear agreement does not progress, the United States may also send delegations to other countries to increase economic pressure on Iran.

Reuters quoted a senior US official as saying that the defense ministers of the United States and Israel will discuss a military exercise that is still planned on the 9th local time to prepare for the "worst-case scenario" - if diplomacy (Iran nuclear agreement negotiations) fail, the Defense Department will destroy Iran's nuclear facilities under the orders of the national leader.

Responsible editor: Su Yangfan Photo editor: Shi Jiahui

Proofreader: Luan Meng