As Russia’s assault on Ukraine grinds on and fears over the deployment of chemical or nuclear weapons grows, Iran nuclear talks are picking up speed down in Vienna. The aim of these negotiations, ostensibly, is to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA), more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, which the US withdrew from under President Donald Trump in 2018, though negotiations appear to be lubricated by Iranian oil. With Russian oil and gas now under sanction, though still flowing, Western states are desperate to feed their fossil fuel addiction. TRNN contributor David Kattenburg speaks with CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin and Executive Director of the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Elena Sokova about the complicated geopolitical pressures the Russian war in Ukraine and US domestic politics are putting on discussions regarding the Iran nuclear deal and a nuclear-free Middle East.

Medea Benjamin is co-founder of CODEPINK, a women-led grassroots organization working to end US wars and militarism, support peace and human rights initiatives, and redirect US tax dollars into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming programs. Her most recent book is entitled Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Elena Sokova has resumed the role of Executive Director of the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation. She was the first Executive Director of the VCDNP in 2011-2015 and afterwards served as Deputy Director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. She writes and lectures widely on nuclear disarmament issues.

Read the transcript of this interview: https://therealnews.com/how-oil-and-the-war-in-ukraine-are-shaping-negotiations-over-the-iran-nuclear-deal

Pre-Production/Studio/Post-Production: Cameron Granadino

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How oil and the war in Ukraine are shaping negotiations over the Iran nuclear deal