Iran Calls on US to Lift Sanctions and Guarantee That 'Trump's Mistakes Will Never Happen Again'

Earlier this year, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei indicated that the US lifting its sanctions against Tehran remains the main condition for the Islamic Republic to return to compliance with the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA.)

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has called on Washington to scrap its anti-Iranian sanctions and guarantee that the former POTUS' mistakes will never be repeated.

“The US should lift sanctions on Iran and also should give guarantees that Trump's mistakes will not happen again, then we can talk within the framework of the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action]”, Khatibzadeh told reporters on Monday, referring to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal

The statement comes after US President Joe Biden said last month that the White House would not lift sanctions against Tehran as a means to resuming negotiations on the JCPOA, and that Tehran needs to stop its uranium enrichment activities first.

Asked whether the US would lift its crushing sanctions against the Islamic Republic "to get Iran back to the negotiating table" during his interview with CBS News, Biden answered simply "No".

"They'd have to stop enriching uranium first?", his interviewer then queried, prompting Biden to nod in agreement.

Despite post-election hopes that Biden would take immediate steps to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal to ease tensions with Tehran, the new administration has failed to reach agreement with its Iranian counterparts on which side should be the first to make concessions.

Tehran insists that it is up to the US side to lift its sanctions, given that it was Washington that abrogated its obligations and pulled out of the accord in 2018. The US side maintains that Iran must first signal its commitment to the JCPOA by scaling back its uranium enrichment and stockpiling activities.

(SPUTNIK)