Biden says he will not lift sanctions on Iran to bring the country back to the negotiating table

“No,” said Biden when asked by CBS ‘Norah O’Donnell whether he would make the move to start negotiations, agreeing when she asked in a newly released interview clip whether the country should stop enriching uranium first. The interview is due to air in full on CBS at the end of Sunday.

In the past, the president said the United States would return to the nuclear deal with Iran, formally known as the Joint Global Action Plan, once Tehran fully complies with the pact. Iran’s position is that, as the U.S. abandoned the agreement in 2018, Washington should take the first step by removing the paralyzing sanctions that former President Donald Trump liberally imposed on Iran’s leaders, individuals and the economy, and terrorism. Iran has increasingly violated its obligations under the nuclear deal after the Trump administration withdrew the U.S. from it.

“It is very clear, it was the United States that abandoned the agreement. It was the United States that violated the agreement. It was the United States that punished any country that maintained respect and complied with the agreement,” Zarif told “GPS.” the United States to return to the agreement to implement its obligations. Iran has never abandoned the agreement. “

Tehran’s parliament passed legislation on December 2 that requires significant increases in its nuclear activities at regular intervals if Iran’s demands for easing sanctions, including in the banking and oil sectors, are not met.

Nuclear authorities have also increased the enrichment capacity at the Natanz facility. And on Monday, Iran broadcast video footage of what it claimed to be the “most powerful” rocket engine, using a system that could launch long-range missiles capable of endangering US allies in Europe and the Middle East. or the USA itself.

There has been a flurry of actions behind the scenes of the Biden government, including the formation of a team with varying views on Tehran and contact with lawmakers.

“Today’s meeting is part of an ongoing policy review. It is not decisive,” wrote Psaki on Friday. “There are no policy announcements pending. We will consult with Congress and partners extensively before any decision is made.”

Talks about escalating Tehran are also taking place among allies, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at a news conference on Thursday. He said the United States is involved in negotiations with European Union allies over a strategy towards Iran and believes that this will produce a “unified front”.

“We are actively engaged with the European Union now, especially the three members of P5 + 1; Germany, the United Kingdom and France. We are talking to them at various levels of our government, these consultations, I think will produce a unified agreement forward when it comes of our strategy towards Iran and to deal with diplomacy around the nuclear archive, and I just don’t want to get ahead of where this is going to end, “said Sullivan.

Biden has been discussing Iran with foreign leaders since taking office, according to reports provided by the White House.

Zarif, speaking to CNN’s Zakaria on Sunday, before the president’s comments about Iran were released, said Biden had two options.

“It is now clear, it is a decision that President Biden and his advisers need to make,” he said. “Whether they want to break with President Trump’s policies or if they want to take advantage of their failures. If they want to take advantage of their failures, they will only achieve failure as a result.”

This story has been updated with additional details.

FIX: An earlier version of this story wrongly quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif as discussing the nuclear deal with Iran.