Rouhani: US must take first steps to honour nuclear deal

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reiterated on Tuesday that the US must take the first steps to honor international nuclear deal agreements.

"Any day that the US resumes fully implementing its commitments under the nuclear deal, we are ready to completely fulfill our responsibilities under the deal as well," said Rouhani, addressing ambassadors of foreign countries, on the eve of the 42nd anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader who has the final say on all matters of state in Iran, on Sunday urged the United States to lift all sanctions if it wants Iran to live up to commitments under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

However, President Joe Biden has said the US won't be making the first move.

"There is no doubt about who should come forward and take the first step in this path (return to nuclear deal)," said Rouhani.

In response to former President Donald Trump's so-called "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran, the country began to gradually violate its atomic commitments under the nuclear deal.

It also threatened further provocations in a bid to increase its leverage and get Biden to prioritize a return to the deal as he moves to dismantle Trump's legacy.

As part of those steps, Iran has begun enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels and said it would experiment with uranium metals, a key component of a nuclear warhead.

Iran insists that all breaches of the pact are easily reversible.

Israel insists Iran maintains the ambition of developing nuclear weapons, pointing to Tehran's ballistic missile program and research into other technologies.