The United States said Thursday it is ready to begin talks with Iran to return to a 2015 deal aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The previous administration of Donald Trump refused to participate in the “nuclear deal” almost three years ago.
Iran reacted coldly to this idea, which Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced during a video meeting with his counterparts from the UK, France and Germany.
Blinken confirmed that the Joe Biden administration is ready to return to the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), if Iran fully complies with the terms of the deal.
“Secretary Blinken re-emphasized that … if Iran returns to strict adherence to its obligations under the JCPOA, the United States will do the same and is ready to participate in negotiations with Iran on this matter,” the heads of diplomatic departments of the four countries said in a joint statement.
A senior US administration official told Reuters that Washington is ready to participate in talks between Iran and the six major powers that originally signed the agreement – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.
“We are ready to participate if such a meeting takes place,” said a source who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. The day before, a high-ranking representative of the European Union announced his readiness to organize a meeting of the participants in the “nuclear deal”.
London, Paris and Berlin welcomed Joe Biden’s intention to return to diplomatic negotiations with Iran. However, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Washington must take the first step.
Iran began to violate the terms of the deal in 2019 after former President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal and re-imposed economic sanctions on Tehran. In recent months, violations by Iran have increased.
“Rather than making fabrications and blaming Iran, E3 / EU should honor its own commitments and demand an end to Trump’s inherited economic terrorism against Iran,” Zarif tweeted. – Our corrective actions are in response to violations by the US / E3. Eliminate the cause if you fear the consequences. “
