US promises have no credibility
Iran does not trust US promises on lifting sanctions and will only return to its commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal once Washington fully removes the measures, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said yesterday.
The administration of US President Joe Biden is exploring ways to restore the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with major world powers, but which was abandoned in 2018 by President Donald Trump, who reimposed sanctions.
The United States and the other Western powers that signed up to the 2015 deal appear to be at odds with Tehran over which side should return to the accord first, making it unlikely that US sanctions which have crippled Iran's economy can be quickly removed.
"We trusted America at the time of (former US President Barack) Obama and fulfilled our commitments. But they didn't. The Americans said on paper that sanctions will be lifted, but they didn't lift sanctions in practice," Khamenei said in a speech on state TV. "Their promises have no credibility for us."
"The Americans must lift all sanctions. We will verify it and if sanctions are ... really cancelled, we will return to our obligations without any problems," Khamenei said. "We have a lot of patience and we are not in a hurry."
Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said on Friday the country will cold test its redesigned Arak nuclear reactor as prelude to fully commissioning it later in the year.
Spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi was quoted by local media as saying the cold testing, which usually include the initial startup of fluid systems and support systems, will take place early in the Iranian new year.
"In other words, we have advanced work in the field of fuel, storage, etc," Kamalvandi said.
Iran has recently accelerated its breaches of the 2015 international nuclear deal in an apparent bid to pressure Biden to reverse his predecessor's abandonment of the agreement. Both sides are locked in a standoff over who should move first to save the deal.
Iran agreed to shut down the reactor at Arak - about 250 km (155 miles) southwest of Tehran - under the 2015 deal. It was allowed to produce a limited amount of heavy water and Tehran has been working on redesigning the reactor. It says it plans to make isotopes for medical and agricultural use.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report to member states earlier this week that Iran has started enriching uranium at its underground Natanz plant with a second type of advanced centrifuge, the IR-4, in a further breach of the deal.
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