'Reality check': Iran rejects US call to comply with Nuclear deal first

Iran on January 28 rejected the US call for Tehran to comply with the nuclear accord first that Washington abandoned in 2018 under the administration of former US President Donald Trump. Recently, US President Joe Biden’s administration expressed its willingness to join the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCOOA) but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed that Washington would only rejoin the Iran Deal once Tehran resumes its commitments. Reiterating to Blinken’s remarks, Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday took to Twitter to give the US a “reality check” and questioning about who shall take the “first step”.

Mentioning Trump’s ‘failure’, Zarif said that apart from unilateral withdrawal from the Nuclear Deal 2015, United States had even imposed sanctions that halted food as well as medicines for Iranians and “punished adherence” to a United Nations (UN) resolution. The Iranian Foreign Minister also stressed that Iran had “abided” by the deal and that it took “foreseen remedial measures” since US withdrawal. Donald Trump had withdrawn from the JCPOA and imposed crippling sanctions on Iran in 2018 in a bid to practice “maximum pressure” policy against the Islamic Republic.

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US on rejoining Nuclear Deal 2015

On January 27, Blinken said that the United States would return to the Iran Nuclear deal only after Tehran meets its commitments, warning of a long road until verification. While the newly-appointed diplomat reiterated Biden’s willingness to return to the deal, he said that Iran was still “out of compliance” on many fronts and it would take “some time” before fraught talks end. Speaking at a news conference, Blinken also rejected Iranian pressure for the United States to act first.

"Iran is out of compliance on a number of fronts. And it would take some time, should it make the decision to do so, for it to come back into compliance and time for us then to assess whether it was meeting its obligations. We're not there yet, to say the least." Blinken told a news conference.

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