Iran refuses to renegotiate nuclear deal until Biden Administration re-enters JCPOA, according to Zarif

On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the Rome Mediterranean Dialogue that if the incoming Biden Administration wants to re-enter the Iran Nuclear Deal, it must do so without any preconditions.

During the conference, Zarif spoke about the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the Iranian nuclear deal signed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany and Iran and ratified by Security Council Resolution 2231. He stated that "the United States exited the JCPOA but they did not exit the UN; as a member of the UN they have responsibilities", adding that “As a permanent member of the Security Council they must adhere to Resolution 2231".

Zarif called the Trump Administration "unscrupulous" for violating the resolution, and stated that "If the Biden administration also wants to be unscrupulous it could seek negotiations for adhering to their commitments. Under this resolution the US has commitments and they are not in a position to set conditions in order to implement those commitments".

President Trump unceremoniously exited the Iran Nuclear deal in May 2018, which he was a long-standing critic of, which in turn had a severe impact on the Iranian economy. With the incoming Biden Administration signalling that it would re-enter the JCPOA, Zarif remained adamant that there will be no new negotiations on the issue, commenting that "We will not negotiate on what we agreed upon in a previous negotiation".

Zarif also spoke about the latest onslaught of U.S sanctions on Iran, which have hampered the country's efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, and impeded the regime's ability to provide vaccinations; with 50,000 recorded deaths so far.