Iran expresses readiness to comply with nuclear deal if Biden lifts all sanctions

On December 2, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran would fully implement its 2015 nuclear deal if US President-elect Joe Biden lifts all sanctions on Tehran. Zarif's remarks came after the US President-elect Joe Biden reaffirmed his stance about Iran’s foreign policies and said that his administration would lift sanctions if Tehran returned to "strict compliance with the nuclear deal.”

In a televised interview with the New York Times’ Thomas Friedman, Biden said that he was committed to returning to the 2015 deal with Iran as it was the only way to deter a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Biden said that the US will re-enter the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) if Iran vowed to curb its nuclear stockpile under the accord in exchange for sanction relief. 

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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Islamic Republic would only comply with the nuclear deal if US President-elect Joe Biden neutralizes the sanctions that have grave repercussions on Iran’s economy. According to Irans state-run press, Zarif suggested "three executive orders" to return to the full commitments in the nuclear accord. Further, Iran suggested a working basis P5 + 1 framework.

Iran is ready to discuss how the US can re-enter the nuclear deal, Zarif said. He addedthat with the new president sworn in office, relations between the US and Iran have a scope for improvement.

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A starting point

Stressing that the agreement would serve as a starting point for Iran to "follow-on negotiations", Biden slammed Trump’s approach of exercising maximum pressure on the Islamic republic by slapping trade embargo, ultimately withdrawing from the treaty.

Biden emphasised that he wasn’t going to "prejudice his options", however, wouldn’t make any immediate moves either. Same rules apply to the tariffs, Biden said. Further, the President-elect said that the US was going to initiate a measure in consultation with the allies and partners and would then engage in negotiations and tighten Iran’s nuclear constraints, as well as draft policies related to Tehran’s missile programmes. 

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(Image Credit: AP)