The U.S. and Iran are still at risk as to which country will make the first move in returning to the 2015 treaty.
President Joe Biden has said the United States will not lift sanctions on Iran before the country returns to its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, the latest tension in a continuing position between the two countries.
Biden was asked in an interview with CBS News whether Washington would lift sanctions to bring Tehran back to the treaty, which saw the Iranian government agree to reduce its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
“No,” Biden replied, according to a clip from the interview posted online Sunday.
During his main campaign, Biden had said he hoped to return Iran and Tehran ‘s nuclear treaty, which has broken the boundaries of uranium and stock enrichment, to return to compliance.
But since taking office, his administration has taken a harder line, saying U.S. negotiators would not communicate with their counterparts in Iran until Tehran returns to full compliance.
Former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement unilaterally in 2018 as part of his “maximum pressure” strategy against Iran.
Earlier on Sunday, Iranian Director General Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Washington must return to its commitments under the agreement, formally known as the Joint Integrated Action Plan (JCPOA), before Tehran does the same.
“If they want Iran to return to its JCPOA commitments, the US must lift sanctions completely. And not just verbally, on paper. They need to implement the sanctions and we will test it, ”said Khamenei, in his initial comments on the situation since Biden took office.
He also said that the European signatories who have been trying to save the treaty – Germany, France and the United Kingdom – have no right to impose conditions.
Last week, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif suggested that an EU official could coordinate a “synchronous” return to the treaty.
Zarif also urged the U.S. to act swiftly, noting that legislation passed by the Iranian parliament forces the government to harden its stance on 21 February. Presidential elections in June could also return to diplomacy.
Later on Sunday, Biden’s senior administration official told Reuters news agency “that nothing has changed in the US situation”.
“The United States wants Iran to come back in [compliance with] its JCPOA commitments and if it does, the United States will do the same, ”the official said.