Iran’s decision to end snap inspections by the United Nations won’t mean abandoning its 2015 nuclear deal, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says.
However the United States must still lift sanctions on Tehran to rescue the pact.
“All our steps (to breach the deal) are reversible,” Zarif told Iran’s English Language Press TV on Sunday.
“The move on February 23 is not abandoning the deal.”
Under a law enacted by hardliners last year, the government is obliged to limit IAEA inspections to declared nuclear sites only, revoking its short-notice access to any location seen as relevant for information-gathering, if other parties did not fully comply with the deal.
President Joe Biden’s administration said on Thursday it was ready to talk about both nations returning to the accord, which aimed to prevent Tehran acquiring nuclear weapons while lifting most international sanctions.
Former President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the accord in 2018 and reimposed sanctions.
But Iran and the United States have been at odds over who should take the first step to revive the accord.
Iran insists the United States must first lift sanctions while Washington says Tehran must first return to compliance.
Zarif reiterated Iran’s stance that Washington should take the first step.
Read the article in The West Australian (AAP).