Iran on Friday said it will not accept U.S. demands that it reverse acceleration of its nuclear programme if the US is not ready to lift sanctions first, this is according to a statement by its Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
The demand ‘is not practical and will not happen’, he said at a joint news conference in Istanbul with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
The new administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has said Tehran must resume compliance with curbs on its nuclear activity under the world powers’ 2015 deal before it can rejoin the pact.
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Iran breached the terms of the accord in a step-by-step response to the decision by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump to abandon the deal in 2018 and reimpose sanctions on Tehran.
Earlier this month, Iran resumed enriching uranium to 20 per cent at its underground Fordow nuclear plant – a level it achieved before the accord.
However, Iran has said it can quickly reverse those violations if U.S. sanctions are removed.
‘If the United States fulfils its obligations, we will fulfil our obligations in full,‘ he said.
Iran’s parliament, dominated by hardliners, passed legislation last month that forces the government to harden its nuclear stance if U.S. sanctions are not eased within two months.
Zarif also condemned U.S. sanctions against Turkey over Ankara’s decision to procure Russian S-400 defence systems.
‘The U.S. government is addicted to sanctions … and this harms the world and the U.S. itself,’ he said.
Richard Nephew, a former lead US sanctions expert during the negotiations for the 2015 deal, pointed out that while the latest figures were ‘a problem (that)… needs to be addressed’, Iran’s uranium stockpile remains a fraction of what it was before the deal actually came into force.
‘This remains not yet a crisis and we have time to fix it diplomatically if anyone in Washington or Tehran is still so inclined,’ he said on Twitter.
The 2015 deal has been hanging by a thread since the US withdrew from it in May 2018 and went on to impose stinging sanctions on Iran, in particular targeting its vital oil sector.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
