Biden Brims With Bromides at UN, But Iran, for One, Is Unimpressed

In the whole history of the United Nations it’s hard to think of a speech brimming with emptier bromides than President Biden’s today at the General Assembly. “Let’s get to work,” is how he ended it. “Let’s make our better future. Now we can do this. It’s within our power and capacity.”The closest Mr. Biden got to articulating a real goal, although not necessarily one that’s conducive to a “better future,” was a promise to resume full compliance — “if Iran does the same” — with the articles of appeasement President Obama struck with the ayatollahs. The Europeans, after all, support the deal, as do the Russians and the Communist Chinese.Yet, following Mr. Biden’s speech, his Iranian counterpart, President Ebrahim Raisi, made clear he sees no real difference between President Trump’s “maximum pressure” and the “maximum oppression” of his successor. Today, Mr. Raisi added, “the world doesn’t care about America First’ or ‘America is Back.’”Mr. Raisi delivered his speech from Tehran via videotape, forgoing the traditional meet and greet with adoring Western journalists. Perhaps he didn’t relish questions about his murderous past as top jurist, when thousands of Iranians were hanged for expressing opposition to the regime.American sanctions on Iran are a “crime against humanity,” Mr. Raisi declared. And while he lied that Iran was deemed by the UN nuclear watchdog to have adhered to its commitments, America “has not yet discharged its obligation, which is lifting sanctions.”While Iranian officials and Western counterparts are expected to meet on the sidelines of the UN gabfest, it’s unclear whether the current impasse can be undone. America demands Iran stop and reverse enrichment, and Tehran insists sanctions be removed first. Meanwhile Western sanctions erode, and Iranian enrichment advances.Mr. Raisi “hints that Iran is in no rush” to return to the deal even as he urges America to hurry up and remove sanctions, says the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran watcher, Behnam Ben Taleblu. Yet the Iranian’s speech added no new clues as to whether his government really intends to comply — or even renew formal talks in Vienna.Beyond Iran, Mr. Biden’s speech was largely designed to fit the UN’s themes of the day: More cooperation among nations to tackle the perils of Covid and climate change. He managed to boast over ending the war in Afghanistan and the new spirit of cooperation with allies. Never mind that the allies still seethe over his failure to consult them on Afghanistan. Or that France remains irate about the sale of nuclear submarines to Australia.It wasn’t all bromides, though. Mr. Biden dedicated a segment of his speech to scolding an adversary, and vowed to “oppose attempts by stronger countries to dominate weaker ones, whether through changes to territory by force, economic coercion, tactical exploitation, or disinformation.”Yet although he was clearly referring to Beijing, he shrank from naming Communist China. He diluted the message somewhat by adding, “We are not seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocks.”After more than half an hour of UNspeak, it seemed that Mr. Biden was determined to do “it,” but remaining elusive was the question of what is “it” itself.________Twitter @bennyavni

Biden Brims With Bromides at UN, But Iran, for One, Is Unimpressed

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