Iran’s top leader on Sunday issued a “final” ultimatum to the United States, saying the only way Washington could return to the 2015 nuclear deal signed by world powers is to lift all sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
“Iran has fulfilled all its obligations under the agreement, not the United States and the three European countries … If they want Iran to return to its commitments, the United States must practice … lift all sanctions, “Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei told Reuters, citing state-Iranian television.
“Then, after checking whether all the sanctions have been lifted correctly, we will fully comply with them again … It is the irreversible and final decision and all Iranian officials have a consensus on it,” he continued.
Former President Donald Trump imposed harsh sanctions on Tehran after withdrawing from the agreement in May 2018.
The Obama administration’s deal with Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union reduced sanctions against Iran in exchange for the country cutting its reserves of enriched uranium needed to fuel nuclear weapons. .
But since the withdrawal of the United States, Iran has breached the limits of the agreement and has begun to accumulate its stock by using advanced centrifuges for enrichment.
President Biden has indicated he would be willing to return to the nuclear deal if Iran strictly complies with the terms of the pact, and a group of House Democrats signed a letter in December urging it to do so.
The world powers that have yet to sign the agreement have also urged Biden to rejoin the pact.