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As the efforts of the Biden administration to reach a diplomatic negotiation with the Islamic Republic of Iran appear to have faltered, they have been steadily working behind the scenes, to come to some sort of an agreement with the Iranian government regarding their steady advance toward a nuclear bomb. This week, a story emerged in Axios that The Biden administration’s senior Middle East advisor, Bret McGurk has secretly traveled to Muscat in an attempt to revive the nuclear talks with Iran.

This direction diverges greatly from comments coming from senior members of the Biden administration. For example, on February 21st, 2023, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “We are committed together to the proposition that Iran never acquire a nuclear weapon. That’s not exactly news. The President’s been very clear that every option is on the table to do that. And we’re also working to deepen our cooperation and coordination with Israel, as well as with other countries to deal with the multiplicity of challenges that Iran poses, including advances in its nuclear program. At the same time, we’ve also been clear that the Iran nuclear deal, the so-called JCPOA, is not now on the table.”

How do these talks square with the assurance from Secretary of State Blinken?” Is America backing up its diplomatic efforts with a renewed display of force? What has the United States done to support the brave dissidents in Iran? What sorts of new weapons, including highly sophisticated ballistic missiles does the Iranian regime have in its arsenal? And, most importantly: Will Israel be left on its own to fight an existential threat with an Iran galloping towards nuclear weapons?

Here to answer these questions and more is Behnam Ben Taleblu.

About the Speaker: Behnam Ben Taleblu is a senior fellow at FDD where he focuses on Iranian security and political issues. Behnam previously served as a research fellow and senior Iran analyst at FDD. Prior to his time at FDD, Behnam worked on non-proliferation issues at an arms control think-tank in Washington. Leveraging his subject-matter expertise and native Farsi skills, Behnam has closely tracked a wide range of Iran-related topics including: nuclear non-proliferation, ballistic missiles, sanctions, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the foreign and security policy of the Islamic Republic, and internal Iranian politics. Frequently called upon to brief journalists, congressional staff, and other Washington-audiences, Behnam has also testified before the U.S. Congress and Canadian Parliament.

His analysis has been quoted in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Fox News, The Associated Press, and Agence France-Presse, among others. Additionally, he has contributed to or co-authored articles for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Fox News, The Hill, War on the Rocks, The National Interest, and U.S. News & World Report. Behnam has appeared on a variety of broadcast programs, including BBC News, Fox News, CBS Interactive, C-SPAN, and Defense News. Behnam earned his MA in International Relations from The University of Chicago, and his BA in International Affairs and Middle East Studies from The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.