Iran hardens rhetoric; will not reverse nuclear steps before lifting US sanctions
Agencies | Tehran
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Iran yesterday threatened to continue accelerating its nuclear programme rejecting US demand to resume compliance with curbs.
It “is not practical and will not happen,” said Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Zarif was holding a joint news conference in Istanbul with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
The new administration of US President Joe Biden has said Tehran must resume compliance with curbs on its nuclear activity under the world powers’ 2015 deal before it can rejoin the pact.
Iran breached the terms of the accord in a step-by-step response to the decision by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump to abandon the deal in 2018 and reimpose sanctions on Tehran.
Earlier this month, Iran resumed enriching uranium to 20% at its underground Fordow nuclear plant - a level it achieved before the accord.
Meanwhile, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said yesterday, “From our perspective, a critical early priority has to be to deal with what is an escalating nuclear crisis as they (Iran) move closer and closer to having enough fissile material for a weapon.”
What do US sanctions on Iran mean?
US economic sanctions are administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Currently, the US sanctions against Iran include an embargo on dealings with the country by the US and a ban on selling aircraft and repair parts to Iranian aviation companies.
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