US ready to join talks with Iran to discuss return to 2015 nuclear deal
The Biden administration says it is ready to join talks with Iran and world powers to discuss a return to the 2015 nuclear deal, in a sharp rejection of former President Donald Trump's campaign that sought to isolate the Islamic Republic.
The administration also took two steps at the United Nations aimed at restoring policy to what it was before Mr Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018.
The combined actions were immediately criticised by antiiran hawks and are likely to draw concern from Israel and Gulf Arab states.
In addition to its willingness to talk with Iran, the administration also reversed Mr Trump's determination that all UN sanctions against Iran had been restored. It also eased stringent restrictions on the domestic travel of Iranian diplomats posted to the UN.
The State Department announced the moves following discussions between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his British, French and German counterparts, and as Mr Biden prepares to participate, albeit virtually, in his first major international events with world leaders.
The announcement came a day before Mr Biden was due to speak to leaders of the Group of Seven industrialised democracies and later in the day address the annual Munich Security Conference.
At both, Mr Biden is expected to discuss his commitment to multilateral diplomacy and his desire to undo damage that Mr Trump's positions may have caused over the previous four years.
In a statement, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the US would accept an invitation from the European Union to attend a meeting of the participants - the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, along with Iran - in the original nuclear agreement.
"The United States would accept an invitation from the European Union High Representative to attend a meeting of the P5+1 and Iran to discuss a diplomatic way forward on Iran's nuclear programme," he said.
The US has not participated in a meeting of those participants since Mr Trump withdrew from the deal and began steadily ramping up sanctions on Iran.
Meanwhile, at the UN, the administration notified the Security Council that it had withdrawn Mr Trump's September 2020 invocation of the so-called "snapback" mechanism under which it maintained all UN sanctions against Iran had been re-imposed.
Those sanctions included a conventional arms embargo against Iran that had been set to expire.
Mr Trump's determination had been vigorously disputed by nearly all other UN members and had left the US isolated at the world body.
Thus, the reversal is unlikely to have any immediate practical effect other than to bring the US back into line with the position of the vast majority of UN members, including some of its closest allies.the senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael Mccaul, denounced the steps.
"It is concerning the Biden Administration is already making concessions in an apparent attempt to re-enter the flawed Iran deal," he said.