The Biden administration is blaming the former Trump administration for triggering Iran’s decision to enrich more uranium to a higher degree of purity by pulling out from the Iran nuclear deal in 2017. Ned Price, a US State Department spokesman, made the justification after a “barrage of criticism” launched by Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, and the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. Menendez had criticized the Biden administration’s approach in handling Iran and its policy at negotiations in Vienna. In a press briefing at the US State Department, Price told Asharq Al-Awsat that concerns regarding Iran expanding its nuclear program could be traced back to the Trump administration’s decision to pull out from the 2015 deal. “These are advancements that Iran has been in a position to make ever since the last administration decided to leave the Iran deal, a deal that was verifiably and permanently preventing Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon,” said Price. “When the Iran deal was fully implemented, the so-called breakout time to which you refer was one year, meaning that it would take Iran one year to accumulate the fissile material necessary for a nuclear weapon if it chose to do so,” he added. Nevertheless, Senator Menendez had warned that the breakout time could take place in three to four weeks. “Now, that is separate and apart from the weaponization process. We’re very concerned with both of these processes. But purely from an enrichment standpoint, that breakout time was a year,” stated Price. “Now – my colleague alluded to this a couple days ago – that breakout time is significantly less. And that is precisely because of the decision to leave the JCPOA that was working to elongate that breakout time,” he explained. Price moves on to note that the Biden administration finds itself facing an unfortunate set of circumstances, which means that the window to reach a nuclear deal with Iran is closing fast. That window is very, very short precisely because once Iran reaches the point where its nuclear advances have obviated the nonproliferation benefits that the nuclear deal conveyed, that’s a point at which it will no longer make sense to pursue a mutual return to compliance with the agreement. Price warned that if a joint return to compliance fails, the US national security interest and the national security interest of allies and partners around the world would mean that the US needs to “pursue another course.” “The reason the breakout time is – can be measured in weeks instead of months is precisely because Iran did not feel encumbered by the deal that the previous administration chose to abandon,” noted the spokesman. Moreover, an official source at the US State Department confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Robert Malley, the US special envoy to Iran, will return to Vienna on Friday to discuss mutual return to compliance with the deal with the participating parties (P5+1) and Iran. The source stated that the proposal that Malley and the negotiating team will carry to Vienna has not changed, which stipulates the complete return to compliance with the deal. Iran must “take many steps to show serious commitment to reach the agreement and make negotiations succeed.” Next Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to hold a closed-door hearing, in the presence of Malley, who will brief the body on the negotiations in Vienna. It is noteworthy that the US administration faces many criticisms in Congress due to its handling of the Iranian nuclear file, the negotiations in Vienna, and the resignations in the ranks of the US negotiating team. Many observers believe that the resignations were a result of the divisions between Malley and his team members beginning to surface. In a Senate speech earlier this week, Menendez openly criticized the Biden administration for its insistence to stick to nuclear negotiations in Vienna, despite Tehran’s grave proximity to owning a nuclear weapon. He stressed that the breakout time is three to four weeks, according to experts. The prominent senator called on the Biden administration and international partners to pressure Iran to confront its nuclear and missile program and its dangerous behavior in the Middle East, including attacks against US and US interests in the region.