US President Joe Biden has not changed his predecessor’s policy towards Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.
“Nothing has changed. Biden claims that (Donald) Trump’s policy of maximum pressure turned out to be a policy of maximum failure. However, they did not change their policy. The problem is that the US is addicted to sanctions”, – Zarif told Press TV.
“We need actions, not promises. We want to see a change in behavior so that the lawlessness started (under President) Donald Trump does not repeat itself”, – the minister added.
According to him, as soon as “everyone fulfills their part of the obligations” in accordance with the nuclear deal, negotiations on a nuclear deal with the participation of the United States will also take place, but they will not relate to changes in the agreement or any new provisions of the deal – regional issues and the Iranian missile program.
“However, we will discuss how to ensure that US actions (withdrawal from the deal and restoration of sanctions) do not happen again, how to avoid this”, – Zarif said.
In anticipation of Iran’s limitation of IAEA inspection activities, expected on February 23, he also stressed that measures taken by Tehran to reduce obligations are reversible and do not violate the nuclear deal.
The Joint Comprehensive Action Plan, concluded in 2015 by the Six (Great Britain, Germany, China, Russia, USA, France) and Iran, envisaging the lifting of sanctions in exchange for limiting Iran’s nuclear program as a guarantor of Tehran’s non-receipt of nuclear weapons, did not last even three years: in May 2018, the United States announced a unilateral withdrawal from it and the restoration of tough sanctions against Tehran.
Iran in 2019 – exactly one year after the US withdrawn from the deal – announced a phased reduction of its obligations under the agreement, abandoning restrictions in nuclear research, centrifuges, and the level of uranium enrichment.
However, for almost a year, Iran did not take drastic steps until at the end of 2020, the law “Strategic measure to lift sanctions” appeared in Iran, obliging to start uranium production with an enrichment level of 20% (instead of 3.67%, in accordance with agreement), start using more powerful centrifuges that go beyond the provisions of the deal, and abandon expanded IAEA inspections if Tehran cannot freely trade oil and carry out financial transactions.
Iran has already enriched uranium to the level required by law and is preparing to install the IR-2m and IR-6 centrifuges, while the nuclear deal involves the use of IR-1 to enrich uranium. In addition, Iran announced its intention to limit the organization’s inspection activities from February 23.