Iran renews call to US to lift Trump sanctions

TEHERAN: Iran renewed its call for the US to lift all sanctions imposed by former president Donald Trump, after an offer for talks from new President Joe Biden’s administration.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted yesterday that Iran would “immediately reverse” its retaliatory measures if the US “unconditionally & effectively” lifts “all sanctions imposed, re-imposed or re-labelled by Trump”.

He said Iran agreed with the

Biden administration’s decision to reverse the widely discredited claim by its predecessor that the UN had imposed new nuclear sanctions.

On Thursday, the United States said it was ready to talk about both nations returning to a 2015 agreement that aimed to prevent Teheran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

The move reflects the change in US administration, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressing Biden’s position that Washington would return to the accord formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) if Teheran came into full compliance with the deal.

Iran reacted coolly to the idea, put forward by Blinken during a video meeting with the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany gathered in Paris.

“If Iran comes back into strict compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA, the United States will do the same and is prepared to engage in discussions with Iran towards that end,” a joint statement from the four nations said.

Iran began breaching the deal in 2019, about a year after former US President Donald Trump withdrew and reimposed economic sanctions.

A US official said Washington would respond positively to any European Union invitation to talks between Iran and the six powers who negotiated the original agreement: Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.