Washington – White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that the United States had begun communicating with Tehran about Americans being held hostage in Iran and said President Biden was “ready to go to dinner” to speak with Iranians. about the constraints of the nuclear program.
In an interview with “Face the Nation,” Sullivan called the detention of Americans in Iran a “total and total outrage” and a “humanitarian catastrophe” and said the release of these hostages would be a top priority for the Biden administration.
“We have started communicating with the Iranians on this issue, yes, and we will continue to do so as we move forward,” Sullivan said. “And our strong message to the Iranians will be that we will not accept a long-term proposal in which they continue to hold the Americans in an unjust and illegal manner.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken to the families of Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, and at least four dual-citizen Americans are being held in Iran.
On Thursday, the Biden administration took a significant step toward restoring Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, from which former President Donald Trump withdrew from the United States in 2018. Unlike his predecessor, Mr. Biden promised during the presidential campaign to join the deal, which has aimed at limiting Iran’s nuclear program.
Sullivan said the president is “determined” to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
“He believes that painful and clear-eyed diplomacy is the best way to do this,” Sullivan said of Mr Biden. “And so he is ready to go to the table to talk to the Iranians about how we are receiving strict constraints on their nuclear program. This offer remains valid because we believe diplomacy is the best way to do it. Iran has not yet responded. But what happened was that the scenario was reversed. Iran is now diplomatically isolated, not the United States. And the ball is in their court. “
Sullivan also discussed the SolarWinds hack, which violated the network management software used by the US government and the private sector. About 100 private sector companies and nine federal agencies have been compromised, Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, said on Wednesday. Neuberger said Russia is probably behind the cyber intrusion.
Sullivan said the White House called on the intelligence community to do more work to sharpen the Trump administration’s remarks, including on how the hacking occurred, the extent of the damage, and the extent and extent of the violation.
“It will be weeks, not months, until we have a ready answer,” he said. “That answer will include a mixture of seen and unseen tools. And there will simply be no sanctions, because, as you say, a response to a set of such activities requires a more comprehensive set of tools, and that’s what the administration intends to do. “
Sullivan said the Biden administration is in the process of looking at how best to respond to the intrusion.
“We will make sure that Russia understands where the United States is drawing the line on this type of activity,” he said.
Mr Biden picked up the SolarWinds hack with Russian President Vladimir Putin when the two spoke last month. Neuberger said he expects the president to take executive action to address the cyber security gaps identified in a review of the breach.