Under the Trump administration, the US withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), arguing that Iran had violated its terms and that the deal was not beneficial. The move reimposed sanctions lifted under the deal and was one of many decisions by the administration that heightened tensions with the Middle Eastern country.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani remarked Thursday that he has “no doubt” that the incoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden would prompt Washington to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal.
In remarks made during the inauguration ceremony of nearly 100 infrastructure projects, Rouhani told viewers that the “three-year resistance of the Iranian nation will force the future US administration to succumb to the people and return to their commitments and break the sanctions.”
“Our first task is to try to make sanctions ineffective or less effective,” he said during a video conference, adding that efforts “should not be delayed even for an hour.”
Iranian officials have stated the nation would be willing to return to the JCPOA on the condition that serious concessions are made, and that the US would compensate Iran in some manner for the economic setbacks caused by the sanctions.
As for Biden, the president-elect previously indicated that he would restart talks with Iran, noting that his first step in easing tensions with the country would be to rejoin the agreement; however, it’s unclear how soon into his administration the issue may be taken up.
Rouhani’s comments come just one day after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to make similar remarks in support of the US rejoining the Obama-era agreement, which both Rouhani and Biden played a role in establishing.
Khamenei had said during a televised address that Iran needs to work to nullify the sanctions, but that “if the sanctions can be lifted in a correct, wise, Iranian-Islamic and dignified manner, this should be done.”
The respective remarks indicated a rare union between the two Iranian officials, who have previously butted heads over how to best handle certain matters.
In May 2019, Khamenei criticized both Rouhani and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif over the agreements settled on for the 2015 deal, telling university students during an event that he had “warned” the pair “several times” about his concerns. The comments echoed those he made in August 2018, when Khamenei said that Iranian negotiators had “trespassed the red lines.”
Supported by several Republican allies, US President Donald Trump announced in May 2018 that he would be withdrawing the US from the nuclear deal that was agreed on by Iran and six other global powers – China, the EU, Germany, France, Russia and the UK. The move effectively began the process of reimplementing a series of sanctions on Iran’s oil sales, financial transactions and construction imports as part of Trump’s so-called “maximum pressure” strategy.
Tensions between Iran and the US have remained heated throughout much of Trump’s term, with matters hitting an all-time high after the January 3 assassination of senior Iranian military leader Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
Rouhani, more recently, stated that while he was “not excited” by Biden’s victory, he was indeed “happy” that the “terrorist Trump” would soon be leaving the Oval Office.
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Iran’s foreign contracts should be subject to a special committee’s scrutiny. Iran doesn’t need all foreign investment. For example, Boeing planes are remotely controllable and there are overtly announced technologies to backdoor it. That’s a critical safety issue as we see they remotely hijacked that Ukranian plane and are trying to exploit dead Iranians to create more Iranian victims.
Reliance on Europe has been an Iranian mistake since Nader Afshar.
If Biden et. al. want commercial partners, cool.
Otherwise Iran has many other and better options that will protect its sovereignty instead of insult it.
Mullahs have got to go back to mosques and cemeteries for preaching religion and reading koran for dead people in cemeteries. That is mullahs’ job, NOT politic.
The reason Iran is in this big mess today relates to the fact that a bunch of stinky rag heads took over the government. They have got to go, so the peace return to region and Iranians become happy again, as they were during shah days.
MULLAHS HAVE GOT TO GO
“Reliance on Europe has been Iranian mistake since Nader Afshar.”
Ha… ha… ha
Another red flag that writer is NOT Iranian.
We never say “Nader Afshar”.
That sounds strange on the ear of Iranian hearing.
We either say Nader Shah or we say Nader shah Afshar. Shah is always part of the name.
Uh ya and then people know who I am so your BS goes right back where it came from. 😂 What else am I? Italian? You’re a stupid ass anti-Iranian racist Israeli who nobody accepts no matter what name you use here, who talked sh*t about ghorme sabzi, and like an impotent eunuch pretending to honk in heat, said racist things about my family.
None of that even came close to triggering me because I have always had the confidence of someone who wins in actions and not words. Undefeated therefore.
How’s your Trump doing?