Biden Admin Urged to Rejoin JCPOA Unconditionally

EghtesadOnline: Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has urged the new American administration to resume honoring the 2015 nuclear deal without any preconditions and make up for losses inflicted on Iranians to be able to interact with Iran within the agreement’s framework.

News ID: ۷۵۱۵۰۱

16 November 2020

Addressing a parliamentary session on Sunday, Qalibaf said practical measures, not “futile rhetoric and claims”, would prove US president-elect Joe Biden’s difference in approach from that of the outgoing president, ICANA reported.

“If we practically see the normalization of Iran’s oil sales, banking activities and trade with the world, we will welcome it, although we are not optimistic,” he said.

Iran has been under tough US sanctions since US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in 2018.

Trump lost the recent elections to his democratic rival Biden who has pledged to rejoin the deal, if Iran were to meet all its commitment once again.

Iran, however, has said the US must admit to its mistakes, meet its obligations and make up for the harm it caused to the Iranian nation over the years before returning to the JCPOA table.

The Iranian speaker said Biden does not intend to remove pressure from the Iranian nation, but aims to turn it into a so-called “smart pressure”.

“By opening small and tempting windows of opportunity, they aim to stop Iran’s economy to become independent so as to … put pressure whenever they want and win substantial concessions from our country,” he said.

Qalibaf stressed that Iran needs to improve its economic, security and economic strength, and create strategic opportunities to make it impossible or costly to exert pressure on the country.

“People’s life and livelihoods should not be linked to the victory or failure of one person in the White House,” he said.

In recent months, Washington has been tightening its oppressive sanctions against the Islamic Republic, defying warnings from Tehran and international human rights organizations that the restrictions are severely hampering the Iranian health sector's fight against the coronavirus outbreak.