Iran says it will 'automatically' fulfill nuclear commitments if Biden lifts US sanctions

Iran on November 18 said that it would “automatically” fulfil the nuclear commitments if 46th US President-elect Joe Biden rejoins the Nuclear Accord of 2015 and lifts sanctions by the outgoing Donald Trump administration abandoned. While Biden has pledged to return to diplomacy with the Islamic state after nearly four years of tensions with Trump, Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in the comments published in the state-run Iran daily that Tehran is willing to again meet the commitments of the denuclearisation pact.

Currently, Iran’s economy is crippling with the sweeping sanctions imposed by the Trump administration that withdrew from the nuclear deal. In the interview, Zarif has also described the US president-elect as a “foreign affairs veteran” who the former has known for at least three decades.

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The Iranian Foreign Minister has argued that once Biden acquires the White House after the Inauguration day on January 20, he could “lift all of these (sanctions) with three executive orders.” Further, Zarif said that if incoming Biden administration does it, Iran would ‘quickly’ return to its nuclear commitments. The Iranian lawmaker later added that if US’ return to the deal can wait as opposed to the removal of sanctions. 

Zarif said, “By pulling Washington out of the JCPOA, Trump solely failed to benefit from the deal. This was the mistake Trump and his associates made. If Biden seeks to return to the JCPOA, he will have to fulfil US commitments under the deal and lift the sanctions.”

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Stalled transition is part of Trump’s personality: Zarif

During the same interview, Zarif acknowledged Joe Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris as victorious in US Election 2020 and noted that the stalled transition of power in the White House is a testament of ‘Trump’s personality’. Iranian Foreign Minister said that 45tg US President, who is the first to lose in his reelection bid after 30 years, is willing to “strain every nerve” to stay in power. Zarif also mentioned a New York Times report that claimed Trump administration even planned to attack Iran “to notch up victory in the election”.

He said, “The post-election developments, as well as the anticipated tension in the country, are still taking place and continuing. Unlike previous presidential elections in the US, this one is not suggestive of a smooth and peaceful transition of power. This characteristic has been and still is, part of Trump’s personality. He is ready to strain every nerve to stay in power.”

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