Iran backs Biden into a corner
Rejoining the nuclear deal might be easier said than done
Campaigning before an election highlights what presidential candidates say they will do. Governing, by contrast, showcases what they can actually get done. When it comes to Iran policy, President-elect Joe Biden is about to discover the yawning gap between those two realities. Biden called President Donald Trump’s ‘maximum-pressure’ campaign against Iran a “dangerous failure.” Since Trump walked away from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed ever-tougher sanctions, Iran has 12 times the amount of low-enriched uranium it had when Barack Obama left office. As a result, the ‘breakout time’ for an Iranian nuclear weapon has dwindled from a year to a matter of months. Biden proposes to return to som
Also in this section
2 April 2026
Alongside a rapid continued build-out of renewables, China’s latest five-year plan stresses the value of domestic hydrocarbon production for energy security and calls for increased Russian gas imports
2 April 2026
The government is taking important steps to revive domestic production, lift investment and benefit from the geopolitical crisis even if more needs to be done in the longer term
1 April 2026
Golden Pass’s startup offers QatarEnergy a timely boost but may also force a difficult choice between honouring disrupted contracts and capitalising on soaring spot LNG prices
1 April 2026
It is not a case of if or when, but the length and magnitude of economic damage from elevated oil prices
