The administration of newly-elected US President Joe Biden has expressed contradictory remarks about its return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying Tehran must make the first move and resume full compliance before Washington will be ready to rejoin the pact.
State Department spokesman Ned Price made the comment on Tuesday after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the European Union could “coordinate” the process of revival of the landmark deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
I told @cnni ’s @CAmanpour: US left the JCPOA & violated it. Iran took remedial measures.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) February 2, 2021
US should return to compliance. Iran will then immediately reverse remedial measures. @JosepBorrellF—Joint Commission Coordinator—can choreograph the moves in consultation with Iran & US. pic.twitter.com/HwpfxpA1G7
"If Iran comes back into full compliance with its obligations under the JCPOA, the United States would do the same," Price told reporters in Washington.
The US administration will be "consulting with our allies, consulting with our partners, consulting with Congress before we're reaching the point where we're going to engage directly with the Iranians and (be) willing to entertain any sort of proposal," he added.
Price also said the US would try to extend the JCPOA by including Iran’s ballistic missile program in future negotiations.
The top Iranian diplomat had earlier suggested that one way to bridge the impasse was for an EU official to “synchronize” or “coordinate” efforts by Iran and the US to return to full compliance with the deal.
"The United States needs to come back into compliance and Iran will be ready immediately to respond. The timing is not the issue," Zarif told CNN International.
#Iran continues its missile ambitions meanwhile western countries' efforts to join the failed #JCPOA agreement!!
— mostafa.m (@MostafaMe4) February 3, 2021
Iran mullahs regime never give up its warmongering & terrorism! https://t.co/bNbItyJLGl
“Clearly there can be a mechanism to basically either synchronize [Iran and US moves] or coordinate what can be done,” he added. “The JCPOA has a built-in mechanism, which is the joint commission. The joint commission has a coordinator … who can sort of choreograph the actions needed to be taken by Iran and the US.”
Biden, who was vice president when the deal was signed during the Obama administration, has said he hopes to return the US to the deal. But new US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the US will only return to the nuclear deal once Tehran honors its nuclear commitments.
Tehran insists that a US return to the deal would be meaningless unless the unilaterally-imposed US sanctions were lifted in the first place.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
