Page 9 - MEOG Week 04 2021

MEOG POLICY MEOG

Iran warns Biden not to lose

chance to revive nuclear deal

IRAN IRANIAN Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Iran has breached its key limits one after the
Zarif on January 22 cautioned new US President other, building up its low-enriched uranium
Joe Biden that his opportunity to revive the 2015 stores, refining uranium to a higher level of
nuclear deal between Iran and six world pow- purity and introducing advanced centrifuges for
ers would be lost if Washington insists on con- enrichment.
cessions beyond what is outlined in the deal up Biden, for his part, has said that if Tehran
front. resumed strict compliance with the nuclear
Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump unilat- agreement Washington would rejoin it.
erally took the US out of the deal—designed to “But we would use that, as a platform with
ensure Iran’s nuclear development programme our allies and partners ..., to seek a longer and
remains entirely civilian - and told Tehran that stronger agreement and also ... to capture these
there would be no reinstatement of American other issues, particularly with regard to mis-
participation in the accord unless Iran agreed to siles and Iran’s destabilising activities,” Antony
concessions including measures aimed at curb- Blinken, Biden’s choice for secretary of state, said
ing its ballistic missile programme and ending on January 19.
its support, such as arms provisions, for proxies “Having said that, I think we’re a long way
around the Middle East. from there,” he said.
Iran holds that the US has no right to set such Zarif added that Iran was willing to discuss
conditions as when it added its signature to the problems in the Middle East. “But the peoples
nuclear deal - along with Iran, Germany, France, of the region, not outsiders, must resolve these
the UK, China and Russia - the conditions did issues. Neither the United States nor its Euro-
not feature in the text and the Iranians remained pean allies have the prerogative to lead or spon-
in full compliance with the agreement when sor future talks,” he wrote.
Trump broke diplomatic convention by yanking Kuwait’s al-Jarida newspaper, meanwhile,
the US from it prior to attempting to batter the has claimed that Iranian diplomats headed by
Iranians into submission on US demands with a UN top envoy Majid Takht-Ravanchi have been
sanctions campaign that was unprecedented in holding informal talks with Biden officials for
its scope and toughness. at least three weeks and have set out a series of
In attempting revive the nuclear deal, Biden, conditions to kickstart the nuclear deal, formally
said Zarif writing in Foreign Affairs magazine, named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
“can begin by removing all sanctions imposed (JCPOA).
since Trump assumed office and seek to re-enter The newspaper quoted an unnamed Iranian
and abide by the 2015 nuclear deal without alter- official as making the same case as Zarif made in
ing its painstakingly negotiated terms.” his magazine remarks and as saying Iran would
“In turn, Iran would reverse all the remedial not accept any new signatories being added to
measures it has taken in the wake of Trump’s the deal. This was almost certainly a reference to
withdrawal from the nuclear deal,” he said, Israel, the UAE and Saudi Arabia who have all
adding that the “initiative squarely rests with expressed an interest in joining the deal so that
Washington”. they can join in more closely monitoring Iran’s
Since Trump abandoned the deal in 2018, nuclear programme.™

Week 04 27•January•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9