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 responding to a question from Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) about President-elect Joe Biden’s commitment to rejoin the 2015 agreement if the Islamic Republic returns to compliance with its nuclear limitations.“The president-elect has indicated if Iran comes back into compliance,” 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,” 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 that might conflict with the incoming Biden administration’s stated goal of rejoining the nuclear deal.The DNI nominee’s answer was significant, as some incoming administration officials and Iran experts within the Democratic Party have advocated a quick US return to the deal with Tehran, even if issues that concern Israel and the moderate Sunni Arab states had not yet been addressed.In contrast, Jerusalem, Riyadh and others either oppose a US return to the deal or strongly desire 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.
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