“The president-elect has indicated if Iran comes back into compliance,” that he would rejoin the deal, but that things are “a long ways from that.”
By YONAH JEREMY BOBPresident-elect Joe Biden's nominee to be Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines speaks at his transition headquarters in the Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, US, November 24, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS/JOSHUA ROBERTS)
Nominee for US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines said that the US is “a long ways” from rejoining the Iran nuclear deal during her confirmation hearing before the US Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday.Haines was replying to a question from US Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) about US President-Elect Joe Biden’s commitment to rejoin the 2015 agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action if the Islamic Republic returns to compliance with its nuclear limitations.“The president-elect has indicated if Iran comes back into compliance,” that he would rejoin the deal, but that things are ‘a long ways from that.’”She added that, “the president-elect has also indicated in doing so” that he would “have to look at the ballistic missiles you’ve identified and destabilizing activities Iran engages in.”Haines said she would provide the committee with a full review of Iran’s nuclear activities, even those which might conflict with the incoming Biden administration’s stated goal of rejoining the nuclear deal.The DNI nominee’s response was significant since some incoming administration officials and Iran experts within the Democratic party have advocated a quick American return to the deal with Tehran, even if issues that concern Israel and the moderate Sunni Arab states have not yet been addressed.In contrast, Jerusalem, Riyadh and others either oppose a US return to the deal or strongly desire that what they perceive as holes in the deal – not addressing Iran’s ballistic missiles, aggressive regional behavior, the expiration of nuclear limits and certain limits on nuclear inspections – be filled before any return.Haines did not directly answer Collins’ question about whether she personally had reservations at a strategic level about Biden’s intention to rejoin the deal.Regarding Iran, she said, “I absolutely agree that Iran is a threat and a destabilizing actor in the region,” and that, “I don’t believe Iran should ever be allowed to get a nuclear weapon.”She added that she would focus on providing the best intelligence to policymakers so they could best decide how to achieve US goals on Iran.Haines also addressed the issues about s China, saying, “We should provide the necessary intelligence to support long-term bipartisan efforts to out-compete China – gaining and sharing insight into China’s intentions and capabilities, while also supporting more immediate efforts to counter Beijing’s unfair, illegal, aggressive and coercive actions, as well as its human rights violations.”Regarding the novel coronavirus crisis, she said, “the DNI should see to it that the Intelligence Community’s unique capabilities are brought to bear on the global COVID-19 crisis around the world, while also addressing the long-term challenge of future biological crises – enabling US global health leadership and positioning us to detect future outbreaks before they become pandemics.”AFTER ALLEGATIONS of politicizing intelligence in the recent era, she said, “the DNI must never shy away from speaking truth to power – even, especially – when doing so may be inconvenient or difficult.”Moreover, “To safeguard the integrity of our Intelligence Community, the DNI must insist that, when it comes to intelligence, there is simply no place for politics – ever.”Other issues she was pressed to discuss included threats from Russia, social media disinformation campaigns, cyber threats, the space force and new developing global and domestic terror threats.Haines spent several years as deputy CIA chief and deputy national security adviser during the Obama administration after handling a series of complex security issues in other positions.She moved from being a player in international law issues at the US State Department to becoming a major force in forging counter-terror and drone strike policy during the Obama administration.When John Brennan, who was Obama’s top adviser on drone strikes, took over the CIA, he eventually brought Haines with him to be his number two.She had already rubbed elbows with top CIA officials during debates over the targeting rules.That helped achieve gaining a more powerful position when she had to carry out a restructuring of the agency, especially in the technology and cyber spheres.Haines is known for multiple run-ins during the aftermath of the post-9/11 US policies permitting waterboarding of certain terrorist detainees.In 2015, she was assigned to bridge a variety of differences between the CIA and a special US Senate task force led by Diane Feinstein.In May 2020, Haines joined in signing a letter along with many other Democrat foreign policy experts urging that the party platform take a more forceful position against Israeli settlement activity and press forward with the two-state solution with the Palestinians.However, she did not take any active role in that campaign and is not associated with taking major positions on Israel issues like some other incoming Biden administration officials.Former Trump administration DNI Dan Coats introduced her to the committee, strongly recommending her nomination, a clear sign that she would win bipartisan support.
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