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Updated April 10th, 2021 at 12:08 IST

'Still question marks': US offered 'very serious' idea to Iran to revive nuclear deal

The United States has offered “very serious” ideas on reviving the Iran Nuclear Deal but was waiting for Tehran to reciprocate its efforts.

Reported by: Riya Baibhawi
Image Credits: Associated Press
Image Credits: Associated Press | Image:self
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The United States has offered “very serious” ideas on reviving the Iran Nuclear Deal but was waiting for Tehran to reciprocate as partner nations voiced optimism following talks in Vienna. The Biden Administration has opened indirect dialogue with Iran to revive the 2015 deal which was nixed by his predecessor Donald Trump under his ‘maximum pressure campaign’. However, the Islamic Republic has demanded Biden to lift all sanctions before it formally comes into full compliance. 

Meanwhile speaking at a press conference, a senior official from the States Department asserted that although the US has demonstrated “seriousness” on returning to the JCPOA, they were still waiting for Iran to “reciprocate” their efforts. Additionally, Washington was also sceptical about Tehran having the “willingness” to “take the pragmatic approach” to fulfill its obligations towards the deal. 

"The United States team put forward a very serious idea and demonstrated a seriousness of purpose on coming back into compliance if Iran comes back into compliance," a US official told reporters as talks broke for the weekend. But the official said the United States was waiting for its efforts to be "reciprocated" by Iran. 

"We saw some signs of it but certainly not enough. There's still question marks about whether Iran has the willingness to... take the pragmatic approach that the United States has taken to come back into compliance with its obligations under the deal," he said.

In 2015, the P5+1 nations signed the JCPOA deal with Iran which allowed Tehran to scale back its nuclear or uranium enrichment program in exchange for promises of economic relief. However, Donald Trump withdrew the US from the pact in 2018. Earlier this year, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken clearly asserted that the country would only rejoin the deal after Tehran meets its commitment.

Iran demands the US to take the first step

Iran has been adamant that it wants the US to return to “full compliance” first. The administration’s stance was, on April 9, echoed by the country’s Foreign Minister Javed Zarif, who said that Iran would first verify if all sanctions imposed by ex-President Trump had been lifted and only then would it fulfil the pact’s obligations. While the US State Department clarified that it was ready to “partially” lift sanctions, the question of Iran fully returning to the deal still lingers. 

(Image Credits: Associated Press )

 

 

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Published April 10th, 2021 at 12:08 IST

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