Zarif: US Remains in Exactly Same Position Held by Trump

By Staff, Agencies

Iran reiterated that it is the US that should take the first step in order to resolve the issues surrounding the 2015 nuclear deal, urging Washington to stop “spouting off” amid growing inconsistencies on the American side.

In an interview with China’s Phoenix Television, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stressed that “It’s impossible [for Iran] to take the initiative to make concessions.”

Zarif was reaffirming Iran’s position on the nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], which was abandoned in May 2018 by former US president Donald Trump, in pursuit of what he called the “maximum pressure” policy on Iran.

“I feel that the Americans have not yet decided on their policies. That’s why the White House had to correct Mr. Biden’s remarks many times,” said Zarif, a week after Biden said in an interview with CBS that he would not lift sanctions in order to encourage Iran to return to the negotiating table.

In similar remarks in a tweet on Thursday, Zarif stated Biden’s America remains in exactly the same position as Trump’s America. He also urged the US to comply with the deal instead of “spouting off”.

Elsewhere in the interview, the top Iranian diplomat underscored that is patently obvious that Washington is violating international rules.

“It is obvious who should abandon such policies, which are in violation of international rules, and lift all these sanctions,” he added.

Referring to Biden’s criticism of Trump’s withdrawal, the Iranian foreign minister said Biden has a clear option of abandoning his predecessor’s Iran policy and doing away with the sanctions.

Therefore, he continued, there is no necessity for Iran to take the initiative in returning to full compliance with the deal.

Zarif then clarified his recent remarks on the role EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell can play in order to save the JCPOA.

He said while the US should take action to remove sanctions, it should also be reassured that Iran would return to compliance with the JCPOA. “And for that to take place, we have a mechanism in the JCPOA called the Joint Commission, which has a chairman called Mr. Borrell, and Mr. Borrell can do this.”

In parallel, Zarif underscored that Iran is currently waiting to see whether the new US administration would return to the JCPOA, noting that, “This would be a test for the Americans.”

“When we see the result of the test, any administration that would be in power at the time, would decide how to proceed,” he said noting that “So far, we have heard nothing but words, and not all the words have been positive.”

The Iranian foreign minister stressed that whenever all of Iran’s blocked assets in the world, including money for food and medicine for Iranian people, are unblocked, the country would see that as a goodwill gesture from the US side.

“If the US shows such goodwill, the response to it will definitely be goodwill as well,” he added.