Iran’s Foreign Ministry in November reacted coolly to suggestions that US President-elect Joe Biden would revive the 2015 nuclear deal between the Tehran regime and six world powers including America.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a news conference in Tehran that the Islamist regime was “not aware” of comments made by an aide to Biden suggesting that a modified version of the original deal was on the table.
Khatibzadeh said that he did not know “who has made such remarks and that is not a criterion for us.”
“Election campaign promises cannot be the basis for judgment,” he added.
Khatibzadeh described the JCPOA — the technical term for the Iran deal — as the fruit of ten years of negotiation that was legally binding on all parties.
US President Donald Trump exited the deal in May 2018, denouncing it as one of “the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.”
“Iran has always stated that JCPOA is related to the past and it is not possible to re-open it,” Khatibzadeh said. He continued that Iran would expect the US to pay compensation for revenues lost as a result of the heavy sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.
Khatibzadeh also responded to the comments made by Israeli cabinet minister Tzachi Hanegbi last week that a reinstated JCPOA would lead to a war between Israel and Iran.
“Israeli officials are very warlike, but they want to wage war at the expense of the blood of American troops,” the Iranian spokesman charged.
On Sunday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the new US administration “should use the opportunity to make up for past mistakes.”
First published on Algemeiner.
