Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday urged the U.S. to lift all sanctions if it wants Iran to live up to commitments under its nuclear deal with world powers, state TV reported, his first comments on the matter since U.S. President Joe Biden took office.
“If (the U.S.) wants Iran to return to its commitments, it must lift all sanctions in practice, then we will do verification... then we will return to our commitments,” state TV quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying.
Former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. in 2018 from the atomic deal, which saw Iran agree to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
“This is the definitive and irreversible policy of the Islamic Republic, and all of the country’s officials are unanimous on this, and no one will deviate from it,” Mr. Khamenei said..
Mr. Biden said he won’t lift sanctions against Iran as long as the Islamic republic is not adhering to its nuclear deal commitments.
Asked whether he would halt sanctions to convince Iran to return to the bargaining table, Mr. Biden offered a clear reply in a CBS interview aired on Sunday: “No.”
