Iran’s return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) depends on the US willingness to lift sanctions on Tehran as a matter of priority. This opinion was expressed in an interview with RIA Novosti by the first deputy head of the international committee of the Federation Council Vladimir Dzhabarov on Wednesday, February 3.
He noted that if both countries comply with the original terms of the nuclear deal, the agreement will be renewed, and the rest of its participants will welcome this.
Dzhabarov recalled Iran’s condition to return to the deal – all illegally imposed sanctions must be lifted from the country.
“Whether the Americans will agree to this, I do not know,” the senator concluded.
On the eve of a briefing, State Department spokesman Ned Price said that the United States is ready to return to the nuclear deal with Iran if Tehran does the same. Price noted that Washington has not yet contacted the Iranian side after the inauguration of United States President Joe Biden. He added that this is unlikely to happen until the country consults with allies.
The United States, under former President Donald Trump’s administration, withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran. The document with Iran was signed in 2015 by Great Britain, Germany, China, Russia, the USA and France. The purpose of the treaty was to overcome the crisis around Tehran’s nuclear developments.
Subsequently, Iran announced a phased reduction of its obligations under the agreement, abandoning restrictions in nuclear research, centrifuges, and the level of uranium enrichment.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, said on January 26 that Tehran would fully return to fulfilling its obligations under the nuclear deal after Washington lifts sanctions on Iran. He recalled that from 21 to 23 February, the Iranian authorities are going to put an end to the implementation of the additional protocol (IAEA).
The next day, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Washington expects Tehran to return to fulfilling its obligations under the JCPOA, after which the American side will assess its steps and decide whether to return to this agreement.