Lift all sanctions to save deal
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday said that Tehran's "final and irreversible" decision was to return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal only if Washington lifts sanctions on the Islamic Republic, Iranian state TV reported.
The deal between Iran and six major powers limited Iran's uranium enrichment activity to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear arms - an ambition Iran has long denied having - in return for the easing of US and other sanctions. But former US president Trump abandoned the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.
"Iran has fulfilled all its obligations under the deal, not the United States and the three European countries ... If they want Iran to return to its commitments, the United States must in practice ... lift all sanctions," state TV quoted Khamenei as saying in a meeting with Air Force commanders.
"Then, after verifying whether all sanctions have been lifted correctly, we will return to full compliance ... It is the irreversible and final decision and all Iranian officials have consensus over it."
In response to Trump's withdrawal, Tehran has breached the deal's key limits one after the other, building up its stockpile of low-enriched uranium, refining uranium to a higher level of purity and using advanced centrifuges for enrichment.
US President Joe Biden, who took office last month, has said that if Tehran returned to strict compliance with the pact, Washington would follow suit and use that as a springboard to a broader agreement that might restrict Iran's missile development and regional activities.
Earlier, Iran's foreign minister urged Washington to act fast to return to the nuclear accord, pointing out that legislation passed by parliament forces the government to harden its nuclear stance if US sanctions are not eased by Feb 21. Mohammad Javad Zarif also referred to elections in Iran in June. If a hardline president is elected, this could further jeopardize the deal.
Separately, Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that a new US stand on the Yemen war could be a helpful step, after Biden said this week Washington was ending its support for a Saudi Arabia-led military campaign in Yemen.
But the statement added, "This alone won't solve Yemen's problem, and the air, sea and land blockade that killed thousands of people in the country due to a lack of food and medicine must be lifted, and the military attacks of the aggressor states led by Saudi Arabia must be ended".
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