The U.S. secretary of state confirmed the U.S.’s willingness to return to a nuclear deal but rejected pressure from Iran to implement Washington first.
The United States will not return to Iran’s nuclear deal once Tehran meets its commitments, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday, warning of a long way to go until the process is confirmed.
On his first full day as U.S. diplomat, Blinken confirmed President Joe Biden’s willingness to return to the 2015 contract from which his ancestors withdrew, but denied Iranian pressure for the U.S. to be involved first. .
“Iran is out of control for a number of reasons. And it would take some time, if he made that decision, to return to compliance and then time for us to assess whether he was fulfilling his responsibilities, ”Blinken said at a news conference.
“We’re not there yet, anyway.”
He declined to say which U.S. official would lead the talks with Iran but said “we will take a different view.”
If Iran returned to the treaty, Washington would seek what Blinken described as a “longer and stronger agreement” to address other “real problem” issues.
He did not name these but Biden has said that they include Iran ‘s development of ballistic missiles and its support for proxy forces in countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
‘Full surrender’
Former President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated under former President Barack Obama and was subjected to punitive sanctions.
The nuclear treaty, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed by Iran and six key countries in 2015 and forced Iran to suspend its nuclear program as a relief. for sanctions from the US and others.
Iran responded to Trump’s sanctions by reducing compliance with the treaty.
“President Biden has been very clear in saying that if Iran returns to full compliance with its obligations under the JCPOA, the United States would do the same,” Blinken said.
But Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called for the U.S. to comply first by ending Trump sanctions, which include a major effort to end major exports. ola Tehran.
Iranian officials fear that the Biden Democratic party, which has a narrow majority in Congress, will struggle to lift measures that will impose sanctions on Tehran in trade.
Tehran and Washington have displayed weapons in recent months amid growing tensions between the two enemies. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Iran in the last days of Trump’s presidency.
On Tuesday, the Israeli general warned that plans to attack Iran were under review and said the U.S. return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran would be “wrong”.
But Tehran dismissed Israel’s threat as a “psychological war”.