Iran says US must return to nuclear deal, lift sanctions before talks
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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wants to save the nuclear deal and his legacy before he leaves office later this year, but is determined not to cave in to US demands.
PHOTO: OFFICE OF THE IRANIAN PRESIDENCY
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WASHINGTON • Iran said the United States must first return to the 2015 nuclear accord and lift sanctions if it wants to start talks with the Islamic Republic, appearing to snub an effort by the Biden administration to begin direct discussions before either country officially rejoins the accord.
The "key sequence" for nuclear talks between the Iran and US is commitment, action and then a meeting, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a tweet yesterday.
The reaction highlighted the challenges in ending an impasse that has threatened to tip the Persian Gulf region into a new conflict in the years since former president Donald Trump exited the accord and reimposed sanctions.
In an effort to make good on one of US President Joe Biden's most significant campaign promises, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with European foreign ministers and agreed that the deal with Iran "was a key achievement of multilateral diplomacy", and one worth pursuing again.
Mr Biden has said he would lift the sanctions imposed by Mr Trump if Iran returned to the sharp limits on nuclear production that it observed until 2019.
Iran has said the US was the first to violate the terms of the accord, and that it would act only after Washington reversed course and allowed it to sell oil and conduct banking operations.
Iran's announcement will open what is likely to be a delicate set of diplomatic offerings.
The sparring over who moves first will be just the first of many hurdles.
And with a presidential election only four months away in Iran, it is not clear if the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei or its political and military leadership would fully support re-engagement with the US.
The State Department said that Iran must return to full compliance with the deal before the US would unwind a number of American economic sanctions that Mr Trump imposed against Teheran, crippling the Iranian economy.
The US offer to hold talks was aimed at restoring a diplomatic pathway with Iran, which has been gradually abandoning its commitments under the nuclear deal in response to the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" sanctions campaign.
US and European officials are particularly alarmed by Iran's decision to stop letting the International Atomic Energy Agency conduct snap inspections by suspending the so-called Additional Protocol from next Tuesday.
But politics looms large on both sides.
The Biden administration does not want to be seen as offering too much to Teheran and risk getting burned if an agreement cannot be reached, while Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wants to save the accord and his legacy before he leaves office later this year, but is determined not to cave in to US demands.
His hardline opponents - who control most of Iran's powerful state institutions and are likely to dominate June's presidential election - oppose any engagement with the US and want closer ties with Russia.
BLOOMBERG, NYTIMES
