Iran’s President Hasan Rowhani says his country is willing to make compromises in its nuclear programme, but believes the U.S. can make that happen by taking the first steps in returning to the 2015 deal regarding its atomic ambitions.
After all, Rowhani said on Wednesday, it was the U.S. that withdrew from the deal in 2018, not Iran.
“The (U.S.) owes us, not the other way around,” he said, adding that his country was ready to fulfil its international commitments “within hours” after the U.S’ return.
Rowhani’s comments are in response to U.S. demands that Iran first return to its technical obligations under the 2015 agreement between Iran and leading world powers before further negotiations can begin.
Tehran, which fulfilled its part of the deal until 2019, insists that the U.S. should not only return to the deal first, but also immediately implement it again – particularly when it comes to lifting sanctions.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the agreement in 2018 and imposed draconian sanctions against Iran.
Since 2019, Iran gradually stopped abiding by the technical commitments laid out by the deal with the aim of preventing it from developing nuclear weapons.
The Islamic Republic has imposed a deadline on the U.S., saying that it would limit the UN’s nuclear agency from conducting inspections in the country if the U.S. doesn’t reverse its actions by mid-February.
Notwithstanding his demands, Rowhani wants to find a solution to the dispute with new U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, as U.S. sanctions have plunged the oil-rich state into a far-reaching economic crisis.
