“There is not much time left for Americans.” On the 6th local time, Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif once again urged the United States to lift sanctions against Iran and take action to return to the Iran nuclear agreement, which was the second time in a week that he made similar remarks.
Zarif said in an interview with the national media on Saturday that “given the Iranian parliamentary legislation and the election atmosphere after the Iranian New Year (March 21), there is not much time left for Americans.”
Last December, the hardliner-led Iranian parliament passed legislation setting a two-month deadline for the United States to ease sanctions.
Zarif pointed out that if the United States does not relax sanctions by February 21, the legislation passed by the Iranian parliament will force the government to strengthen its nuclear position.
He also referred to the Iranian elections in June this year, saying that if a tough president is finally elected, it will further endanger the Iran nuclear agreement.
“The more the US delays, the more it loses… It seems like the Biden administration doesn’t want to get rid of Trump’s legacy of failure,” Zarif added, Iran, who was already on the negotiating table, “it’s the US that needs to go back to the table.”
In July 2015, Iran reached an Iran nuclear agreement with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany. Iran promised to limit its nuclear program and the international community lifted sanctions against Iran.
However, the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement in May 2018, and then restarted and added a series of sanctions against Iran.
In the face of the actions of the United States, Iran has gradually suspended the implementation of some of the terms of the agreement since May 2019, but the measures promised to be “reversible”.
The Biden administration came to power, rekindling Iran’s hopes of resuming the Iran nuclear agreement.
Before and after the change of the U.S. government, a number of Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Zarif and President Rouhani, shouted one after another urging the Biden administration to lift sanctions and return to the Iran nuclear agreement.
But to this day, the Biden administration has not taken specific measures on the Iran nuclear agreement.
U.S. Secretary of State Blincoln said last month that the United States will not quickly decide whether to rejoin the Iran nuclear agreement, and “there is still a long way to go”.
In order to put pressure on the United States, Iran pushed forward the violation of the nuclear agreement, increased its uranium enrichment to 20% in January this year, and stopped the regular inspection of its nuclear facilities by the United Nations.
In fact, this is the second time in a week that Zarif has urged the United States to take action.
According to CNN on the 2nd, Zarif said in an interview on the 1st that Iran is ready to establish a new relationship with the United States, but the time waits for no one.
“The time and opportunity for the United States to return to the agreement are limited.”
“If we wanted to make nuclear weapons, we would have done that long ago.” “But I don’t think nuclear weapons can guarantee our security and contradict our ideology, which is why we don’t pursue possession,” Zarif said.
Although Iran has been demanding that the United States lift sanctions on Iran first, it says that whether Iran will re-compliance with the nuclear agreement “it is entirely up to Washington”. But Zarif gave a new statement in an interview on the 1st.
Zarif said that the question of which the United States and Iran “takes the first step” could be coordinated by Josep Borrell, the head of foreign policy of the European Union, and he could “plan the actions that the United States and Iran need to take to a certain extent”.
In response to Zarif’s proposal, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price responded on the 2nd that if Iran can fully resume compliance with the nuclear agreement, the United States is ready to “take diplomatic channels”.
On the 5th, U.S. Secretary of State Blincoln held an online meeting with the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany, hoping to form a unified position on the Iranian nuclear issue.
According to Newsweek on the 5th, on the same day that Lincoln met with the British, French and German Foreign Ministers, 41 former U.S. national security and diplomatic officials signed an open letter calling on Biden to rejoin the Iran nuclear agreement and warning that not doing so might mean a costly new war.
These officials believe that the Iran nuclear agreement remains the only way to prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons.
The letter wrote, “In response to the many threats posed by Iran, we strongly support the resumption of restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, and the return of Iran and the United States to the nuclear agreement will be the starting point for further negotiations.”
