Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Iran has seen “no serious efforts” from the United States after reports that Joe Biden’s administration proposed a new offer to resolve a deadlock over the landmark 2015 nuclear deal.
In a televised cabinet speech on Wednesday, Rouhani pointed out that US President Joe Biden has emphasized diplomacy and admitted to the failure of his predecessor Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy.
However, Rouhani said the Biden administration’s words have not translated into action, referring to the continued harsh US sanctions that Trump had imposed in 2018 when his administration walked out of the 2015 deal.
“Do you agree that Trump was a terrorist? If you don’t, then all your talk is invalid. If you do, then you shouldn’t continue his action for one more second,” he said.
The waves of US sanctions have affected every aspect of Iranian life, hampering Tehran from importing food, medicine and COVID-19 vaccines.
Earlier this week, multiple reports said the Biden administration offered a new proposal, including some sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for halting 20 percent uranium enrichment, to jump-start the negotiations.
The proposal was shot down quickly, as an unnamed senior Iranian official told state-run Press TV that Tehran will not reduce uranium enrichment in exchange for a partial lifting of sanctions.
This is in line with what Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei called the “definitive policy” of Iran on the nuclear deal.
Imam Khamenei said on multiple occasions that Iran will only come into full compliance with its nuclear deal commitments after the US lifts all sanctions and Iran can verify that, and is “in no hurry” to have sanctions lifted.
That hardened stance was announced after the US rejected an Iranian offer for a step-by-step return to the nuclear deal by both sides that would be “choreographed” by the European Union.
On Wednesday, Rouhani said restoring the nuclear deal would be very easy and requires no negotiations, despite what the US claims.
“The Americans are lying that they require time [to lift sanctions]. They can do it in an hour and we will only need a moment. There are a few screws we need to twist and untwist,” he said in reference to dismantling the cascades of advanced centrifuges Iran is now using to enrich uranium.
Source: Iranian Agencies
