Treacherous domestic politics in both Iran and the US are rapidly closing the window to save the JCPOA ...

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April 6, 2021

Stephen Collinson and Caitlin Hu

'A product of the cultural war in America'

Treacherous domestic politics in both Iran and the US are rapidly closing the window to save the JCPOA nuclear deal, even as diplomats gather in Vienna this week to rescue it.

Officials from Tehran and Washington will both be in the City of Music on Tuesday, but they are not planning to talk directly -- which means European, Chinese and Russian negotiators will need to do some nifty footwork to make progress as they shuttle between the US and Iranian delegations. The talks could establish whether it's possible to find a sequence by which both sides can get back into compliance with the nuclear deal -- which limits Iranian nuclear development in exchange for relief from sanctions -- without either appearing to cave to the other.

The US pulled out first from the deal under then-President Donald Trump, so Tehran says the first step is for Washington to come back into compliance by removing sanctions -- only then will it scale back its own uranium enrichment. Looming elections in June could see President Hassan Rouhani replaced with a more hardline leader who may be less eager to embrace the nuclear deal.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden faces a tricky political task, not least because his predecessor imposed many sanctions on Iran not related to its nuclear program -- partly to sabotage future efforts to revive the deal. If Biden tries to remove sanctions per JCPOA requirements, he will face a wall of Republican opposition and risk burning political capital that he may need for his domestic agenda.

A breakthrough seems most possible between the start of the Biden administration and the Iranian election. But more than two months have already elapsed; everyone gathering in Vienna for Tuesday's delicate diplomatic waltz knows there is no time to waste.

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Harvey Weinstein has appealed his sex crimes convictions.

And Arkansas' GOP governor vetoed an anti-transgender health care bill.

'A product of the cultural war in America'

The anti-transgender health care bill vetoed by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson on Monday would've prohibited physicians in the state from providing gender-affirming "procedures" for trans people under age 18. Hutchinson dismissed the bill as "a product of the cultural war in America," though "well-intentioned." If passed, he also said, it would constitute "vast government overreach" that would create "new standards of legislative interference with physicians and parents as they deal with some of the most complex and sensitive matters involving young people."

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'You don't really believe peeing in bottles is a thing, right?'*

For more than two decades, Amazon has led to the demise of bricks-and-mortar businesses, hired and churned through vast numbers of workers and even pitted cities against one another to bid for its second headquarters, all in service to its seemingly bottomless thirst for growth and satisfying customers. But if the company's recent public statements are any indication, a town in Alabama now has the tech giant on edge.

In the last week and a half, as a milestone union election at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, came to a close, the company openly antagonized lawmakers and some behind the union effort over how it treats and pays its workers.

Its confrontational approach to public relations – including targeting Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Representative Mark Pocan of Wisconsin on Twitter -- has surprised industry watchers, labor experts and some current and former employees. The tweets addressed to Pocan even spurred an apology from the company late Friday, more than a week after they were originally posted.

Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, a group of corporate employees that originally formed to advocate on climate issues, told CNN Business in a statement that they are "ashamed to see the aggressive tactics Amazon's Twitter account has taken recently."

Some are saying it is proof that the e-commerce giant may be feeling newly vulnerable about the potential for employees to unionize, while others argue that the aggressiveness suggests Amazon is confident it will win. Results of the votes – the tally of which began last Tuesday -- are expected sometime this week. -- CNN's Sara Ashley O'Brien writes to Meanwhile from New York City

* That's what Amazon tweeted at Pocan -- before apologizing on the company blog and acknowledging that the company's drivers do in fact struggle to find restrooms.

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On Tuesday, representatives from the US, Iran and other members of the JCPOA nuclear deal meet in Vienna. The IMF releases its World Economic Outlook. European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Greenland holds general elections.