Iran backs Biden into a corner
Rejoining the nuclear deal might be easier said than done
Campaigning before an election highlights what presidential candidates say they will do. Governing, by contrast, showcases what they can actually get done. When it comes to Iran policy, President-elect Joe Biden is about to discover the yawning gap between those two realities. Biden called President Donald Trump’s ‘maximum-pressure’ campaign against Iran a “dangerous failure.” Since Trump walked away from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed ever-tougher sanctions, Iran has 12 times the amount of low-enriched uranium it had when Barack Obama left office. As a result, the ‘breakout time’ for an Iranian nuclear weapon has dwindled from a year to a matter of months. Biden proposes to return to som
Also in this section
20 February 2026
The country is pushing to increase production and expand key projects despite challenges including OPEC+ discipline and the limitations of its export infrastructure
20 February 2026
Europe has transformed into a global LNG demand powerhouse over the last few years, with the fuel continuing to play a key role in safeguarding the continent’s energy security, Carsten Poppinga, chief commercial officer at Uniper, tells Petroleum Economist
20 February 2026
Sempra Infrastructure’s vice president for marketing and commercial development, Carlos de la Vega, outlines progress across the company’s US Gulf Coast and Mexico Pacific Coast LNG portfolio, including construction at Port Arthur LNG, continued strong performance at Cameron LNG and development of ECA LNG
19 February 2026
US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy has grown its business rapidly since exporting its first cargo a decade ago. But Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin tells Petroleum Economist that, as in the past, the company’s future expansion plans are anchored by high levels of contracted offtake, supporting predictable returns on investment






