SULAIMANI (ESTA) — U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States will not lift its economic sanctions on Iran in order to get Tehran back to the negotiating table to discuss how to revive the Iran nuclear deal, according to a video released by CBS News on Sunday.
Asked if the United States will lift sanctions first to get Iran back to the negotiating table, Biden replied: “no” in the interview, which was recorded on Friday, according to Reuters.
Asked if Iran had to stop enriching uranium first, Biden nodded. It was not clear exactly what he meant, as Iran is permitted to enrich uranium under the 2015 nuclear deal within certain limits.
Reuters cited a senior U.S. official as saying that Biden meant to convey that Iran needs to stop enriching uranium beyond the limits permitted under the Iran nuclear.
“They have to stop enriching beyond the limits of the JCPOA,” said the official, referring to the deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Reuters reported.
“There is nothing changed in the U.S. position. The United States wants Iran to come back into (compliance with) its JCPOA commitments and if does, the United States will do the same.”
The accord between Iran and six major powers limited Iran’s uranium enrichment activity to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear arms in return for the easing of U.S. and other sanctions.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, denouncing it as one-sided in Iran’s favor, and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy.
Iran retaliated by breaching the terms of the accord in a step-by-step response. Last month, it resumed enriching uranium to 20% at its underground Fordow nuclear plant – a level it achieved before the accord.
Earlier on Sunday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran’s “final and irreversible” decision was to return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal only if the United States lifts sanctions on the country.
“Iran has fulfilled all its obligations under the deal, not the United States and the three European countries … If they want Iran to return to its commitments, the United States must in practice … lift all sanctions,” state TV quoted Khamenei as saying in a meeting with Air Force commanders.
“Then, after verifying whether all sanctions have been lifted correctly, we will return to full compliance … It is the irreversible and final decision and all Iranian officials have consensus over it,” he added.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Iran on Friday in a virtual meeting with his British, French and German counterparts as the group weighed how to revive the deal.
“The more America procrastinates, the more it will lose … it will appear that Mr. Biden’s administration doesn’t want to rid itself of Trump’s failed legacy,” Zarif said in the interview.
“We don’t need to return to the negotiating table. It’s America that has to find the ticket to come to the table,” he added.
Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday urged Biden to act fast to return to the nuclear deal, pointing out that legislation passed by parliament forces the government to harden its nuclear stance if U.S. sanctions aren’t eased by February 21.
“Time is running out for the Americans, both because of the parliament bill and the election atmosphere that will follow the Iranian New Year,” Zarif said in an interview with Hamshahri newspaper published on Saturday
Iran’s new year begins on March 21.
The parliament, dominated by hardliners, passed the legislation in December that set a two-month deadline for an easing of sanctions.
