U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who is looking to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, may find his decision to save the agreement could test his relationship with Israel, experts said this week.
Biden has a strong relationship with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but Middle East negotiators who have worked in both Republican and Democrat administrations think pushing to save the nuclear deal could hurt Netanyahu politically.
Experts have speculated that a Biden administration would be less likely to accept all of Israel’s demands, unlike the Trump administration which analysts say offered Netanyahu unconditional support.
Washington, under the current Trump administration, imposed more sanctions on Iran, this time targeting individuals and companies accused of supplying sensitive materials to an Iranian military firm.
Four people and six companies were sanctioned for enabling the acquisition of sensitive goods to the company, which produces military communication systems, avionics and missile launchers.
Following on from the announcement that a fresh round of sanctions would be imposed, the Iranian government released 157 people detained in prison for taking part in anti-government protests around the country.
Iran’s judiciary spokesman, Gholamhossein Esmaili said the prisoners were among the 2,301 people freed by a pardon from Ayatollah Khamenei, to mark the anniversary of the birth of Prophet Muhammad.
And human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, has been temporarily released from jail. Sotoudeh tested positive for Covid-19 after leaving prison. She had told her husband that the virus had spread in her ward leaving several prisoners unwell.
A film about Sotoudeh, who is a winner of the prestigious Sakharov Prize, was shared online. The movie, called ‘Nasrin’ depicts the activist’s fight for freedom in Iran.
