TEHRAN — While Europe strives to prepare for the next freezing winter, the U.S. has effectively taken the solution to this impending crisis hostage.

Europe began to consider alternatives to Russian gas as early as May of this year, when they invited Qatar's Emir to a regional tour. In February, the White House was ahead of them, referring to Qatar as a "major ally" outside NATO. The tour, however, was not totally successful because it was primarily concerned with political disputes rather than selling gas to Europe.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani visited Slovenia, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Switzerland. 

However, as previously said, efforts to establish a common ground between Iran and the U.S. in order to resurrect the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) took center stage during the May tour, and Qatar was unable to create a firm cooperation framework to sell gas to Europe.

Prices began to increase in June, as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalated. As a result, the Europeans began to believe that their inaction to revive the JCPOA was not in their best interests, and they began to believe that they needed to play a larger role than a mailman delivering envelopes from the Iranian delegation to the Americans.

Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief, decided to take charge of the situation and meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian in the hopes of finding a new silver lining for the crisis-stricken continent, which was already suffering from wheat and grain shortages.

One can assume that in the winter a possible increase in energy prices could lead to uprisings across the continent that could be spending a frigid winter without gas.

On June 25, Borrell met with Amir Abdollahian in the hopes of reaching an agreement. The visit concluded with Iranian negotiators agreeing to meet with their American colleagues in Doha, Qatar, to work out some outstanding issues. Despite having low hopes and being skeptical about the outcome, Iran took the grueling rounds of talks in Qatar on June 28-29 extremely seriously. The American side, on the other hand, arrived in Doha with exceptionally maximalist demands.

Borrell came up with another plan after being dissatisfied with the procedure in Doha. On August 8, he put a 35-page proposal on the table to resolve the issue as soon as possible, and he offered Iran a week to evaluate it. On August 14, Iran issued a package proposal that contained its first reaction, reservations, and attempts to overcome those objections.

The response was provided to the EU, and the EU promptly submitted it to the Americans. However, the U.S. began to procrastinate and, as of this writing, has not responded to Iran's proposal, which Borrell described as "reasonable" on Monday.

Separately on Sunday, the E3 leaders called U.S. President Joe Biden and urged him to accept the proposal on the table. However, feeling threatened by the prospect of a JCPOA revival, the Israeli regime dispatched its National Security Advisor Eyal Hulata to Washington to negotiate the JCPOA revival.

Prior to Hulata's departure, the regime's Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, demanded that Biden "walk away" from the negotiations since the pact jeopardized Tel Aviv's interests.

On Monday, United States National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said, “We are currently doing our homework and will respond at an appropriate time and after our internal process is complete.  No sooner.”

She continued, “We are in intensive and constant discussions with Israel on Iran. (Israeli) National Security Advisor Dr. Hulata is in Washington this week.” However, the part that scared the bejesus out of the E3 is the next statement. 

Watson said, “There is no greater supporter of Israel’s security than President Biden.” The E3 leaders must have realized by now that Biden chooses to sacrifice everyone for the sake of Tel Aviv. This is not surprising, but France, the UK, and Germany put all of their eggs in the JCPOA revival basket, and now, with the United States refusing to respond, they are seeking alternatives.

According to reports, French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to visit Algeria on Thursday. France is completely fine with mediating a historical dispute between Algeria, Morocco, and Spain in order to supply his country with gas. As some political observers put it, “utter desperation."

Angry demonstrators gathered outside Hungary's parliament on Friday to protest the relaxation of logging laws in order to fulfill increased demand for firewood as a result of rising gas and electricity prices.

Europe is somehow returning to the Dark Ages, asking its citizens to rely on firewood and coal to heat their houses.

Europe has been attempting to transition from fossil fuels and set a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

This comes as European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans warned that the EU faced "quite serious tension and turmoil" over energy prices this winter.

Protests have erupted in France, Germany, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and Belgium in response to the energy crisis. There is, however, a simple and viable remedy available: Resurrecting the JCPOA. The Biden administration must reconsider its priorities and determine if Tel Aviv or Europe is more valuable. Biden's gamble could cost him an entire continent.

A hellish winter is loading for Europe, and the clock is ticking.