President Joe Biden could simply issue an ‘executive order’ if the US was serious about rejoining Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Iran’s foreign minister said on Sunday, according to the state-owned Iran daily.
The agreement, which saw Iran reduce nuclear activities in exchange for the removal of global sanctions, fell apart in 2018 after then-President Donald Trump withdrew the United States, causing Tehran to break the uranium enrichment limits agreed in the pact.
Leaders of the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom urged Iran to resume compliance with the nuclear deal at the G20 summit in Rome on Saturday, saying that they wanted a negotiated solution to avoid a dangerous escalation.’
‘All Biden has to do tomorrow is issue an executive order, and they (the US) say they are entering the treaty from where his predecessor left it,’ Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told the Iran daily.
‘There is no need for all of these conversations if there is a sincere desire in Washington to return to the pact.’
Tehran has claimed that its nuclear moves since Trump scrapped the agreement, claiming it was faulty to Iran’s benefit, were reversible if Washington lifted sanctions in a verifiable procedure.
Iran’s senior nuclear negotiator said on Wednesday that talks between the Islamic Republic and international powers to preserve the deal, which began in April, will restart by the end of November. Since the inauguration of conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi as Iran’s president in June, the talks have been on pause.
Concerned that Iran is enriching uranium to a level of fissile purity near to that of a weapon, Western governments have encouraged Tehran to resume discussions, stating that the diplomatic window will not remain open indefinitely.
Iran denies having any plans to produce nuclear weapons.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the US was ‘totally in lockstep’ with the United Kingdom, Germany and France in their efforts to get Iran back into the deal, but it was unclear whether Tehran was willing to enter the discussions in a ‘serious way.’
Sharp disputes between the United States and Iran over which steps should be made and when, have hindered the progress toward restoring the accord. The nuclear restrictions that Tehran will accept, as well as the sanctions that Washington will lift, are key considerations.
Tehran is seeking the easing of Trump-era sanctions, particularly those connected to Iran’s human rights record and alleged backing for terrorism, as well as assurances that Washington will not back out of the deal.
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