The agreement with Iran was signed in 2015 by the US, France, Britain, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union; it was intended to guarantee that Iran would not be able to develop nuclear weapons – and has no incentive to do so. Trump, when announcing the departure of the United States, said: “It was a horrible unilateral agreement that would never have to happen.” It then restores sanctions against Iran lifted by the Obama administration when the agreement was reached, and works to isolate Iran internationally.
Zarif’s comments on Sunday reflect those of the state’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said earlier in the day that the US should lift all sanctions against the country if it wants Iran to fully respect the agreement.
President Joe Biden, who was vice-president when Prime Minister John Kerry negotiated the deal, called on Iran to get the ball rolling, saying the country should stop enriching uranium if it wants to have that the US should return to the agreement. But Zarif insisted that the US had the responsibility to correct their behavior, not Iran’s to be worthy of the deal.
“The way to return to full compliance with Iran is for the United States, which has completely abandoned the agreement, to return and meet its obligations,” Zarif said on “Fareed Zakaria GPS.” “It is clear that this is a decision that President Biden and his advisers must make. Whether they want to break with President Trump’s failed policies and whether they want to build on his failures. If they want to build on his failures, they will only fail because of them. ”
Iran’s foreign minister also said his country would refuse to consider negotiating another deal or adding other elements to the deal.
“The whole nuclear deal is not negotiable because it has been fully negotiated,” Zarif said. “We need to implement something we have negotiated. We do not buy the horse twice. ”