President Biden said the United States would not lift sanctions against Iran unless the country stopped enriching uranium, continuing an impasse with the country’s supreme leader, who demanded that sanctions be lifted before the country returns to its obligations under the 2015 nuclear agreement.
CBS Evening News anchor and editor-in-chief Norah O’Donnell spoke to Biden in his first interview with a news network since his inauguration. It will air at 4:00 pm before the Super Bowl on Sunday.
“Will the United States lift sanctions first to put Iran back on the table?” O’Donnell asked.
“No,” replied Mr. Biden.
“Do they have to stop enriching uranium first?” O’Donnell asked.
Mr. Biden nodded.
Under the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, the United States and other world powers agreed to lift economic sanctions against Iran in exchange for limits to the country’s nuclear program. Former President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement in 2018 and again imposed those sanctions. Biden said he plans to return to the deal.
In early January, Iran announced that it had resumed advanced uranium enrichment, violating the terms of the 2015 agreement. A global nuclear authority also told the United Nations last month that Iran began making equipment used to produce uranium. metallic, the group said, that can be used to make the core of a nuclear warhead.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that the United States must lift sanctions before Iran fulfills its commitments under the nuclear agreements. In November, Iran’s foreign minister said the country would “automatically” return to its commitments if Biden lifted the sanctions imposed by Trump.
In his confirmation hearing Last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that if Iran took the first step and returned to complying with the terms of the agreement currently drafted, “so would we”.
“But we would use this as a platform to seek a longer and stronger agreement, but also to capture these other issues, particularly with missiles and other destabilizing activities,” Blinken told senators, adding that “we are a long way from that.”
O’Donnell also asked Biden about another important foreign relationship: the United States and China.
“The US-China relationship is probably one of the most important in the world,” said O’Donnell. “Why didn’t you call Xi Jinping?”
“Well, we haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet,” replied Biden. “There is no reason not to call him. I probably spent more time with Xi Jinping, I am told, than any world leader, because I had 24, 25 hours of private meetings with him when he was vice president. I traveled 27,000 miles with him. I know him very well. “
“Is there a lot to talk about?” O’Donnell asked.
“There is a lot to talk about. A lot to talk about,” said Biden. “And he is very brilliant. He is very tough. He doesn’t have – and I don’t mean it as a criticism, just reality – he doesn’t have a small, democratic, bone in his body. But he is – the question is , I told him all the time, that we need it does not have a conflict. But there will be extreme competition. And I’m not going to do it the way he knows it. That’s because he is sending signals as well. I won’t do it the way Trump did it. We will focus on international traffic rules. “
The full interview will air on Sunday at 4 pm Eastern time, before the Super Bowl, only on CBS.
Watch Part 1 of Norah O’Donnell’s interview with President Biden: Biden says “no need” for Trump to still receive intelligence briefings
Watch Part 2 of Norah O’Donnell’s interview with President Biden: Biden says son Hunter’s book “gave me hope“