Zarif: Iran Will Return to Nuclear Deal if the US and Europe Uphold Commitments

Joe Biden said this week that he would return to the JCPOA

On Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Iran would return to full compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal if the US and its European signatories uphold their commitments.

Zarif’s comments came after Joe Biden said that his administration would return to the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), if Iran comes into compliance.

Iranian leadership has made it clear in recent months that they will follow the limitations of the JCPOA if the US lifts sanctions. They have also made clear that Iran will not enter negotiations for a stricter deal until they receive sanctions relief, something Zarif reiterated on Thursday.

“The United States has commitments. It is not in a position to set conditions,” Zarif told a conference in Italy, which he addressed remotely.

After the US withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 by reimposing sanctions, Iran gave the European signatories a year to offset US sanctions before it gradually started violating the deal. Zarif explained how those European signatories are currently not in compliance with the JCPOA.

“Europeans say they are in full compliance (with the deal) but they simply are not,” Zarif said. “We don’t see any European companies in Iran, we do not see any European country buying oil from Iran, we do not see any European banks send us our money.”

Zarif mentioned a bill passed by parliament that calls for increased uranium enrichment and the suspension of UN inspections of Iran’s nuclear program if sanctions are not lifted. While some of Iran’s government opposes the bill, including President Hassan Rouhani, Zarif said it could be implemented but insisted the measures could be reversed.

“The Europeans and USA can come back into compliance with the JCPOA and not only this law will not be implemented, but in fact the actions we have taken … will be rescinded,” he said. “We will go back to full compliance.”

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.