Iran says 'one signature' cannot fix Nuclear Deal, calls for relief from US sanctions

Iran on February 1 said that ‘one signature’ by the United States cannot fix the Nuclear Deal of 2015 but called to ‘effectively undo sanctions’ crippling the economy of the Islamic Republic. As per Bloomberg report, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a press conference in Tehran that the US “cannot return to the nuclear accord with one signature in the way that they left with one” to reset the nuclear arsenal of Iran. Khatibzadeh’s remarks is an evident signal to the US President Joe Biden’s administration that Iran is expecting Washington to scrap the sanctions along with the full restoration of the United Nations (UN) resolution that substantiates the deal before Tehran scales back. 

“We’re waiting for U.S. action to effectively undo sanctions, give us access to our own funds, permit easy oil exports and allow the transfer of oil revenue, shipping and insurance,” Khatibzadeh told reporters, referring to billions of dollars that US sanctions are costing Iran. 

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Earlier, on January 28, Iran 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 Donald Trump had withdrawn from the JCPOA and imposed crippling sanctions on Iran in 2018 in a bid to practice “maximum pressure” policy against the Islamic Republic.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.

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