Ali Asghar Khaji, Iran's assistant foreign minister for political affairs, said that his country advises US President Joe Biden to reconsider setting preconditions for Washington's return to the Iran nuclear deal, while US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that diplomacy is the best way to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
In statements to the Russian "Sputnik" agency, the Iranian foreign minister expressed his country's readiness to return to full compliance with the nuclear agreement concluded in 2015, in the event that the United States returns to the agreement and its implementation by all parties.
Ali Khaji indicated that his country had reduced some of its commitments to the nuclear agreement due to Washington's violation of the UN resolution.
US President Biden had stipulated Iran's full compliance with the terms of the nuclear agreement before America returned to the agreement and lifted the strict sanctions imposed by former US President Donald Trump during the past two years after his country's withdrawal from the agreement in mid-2018.
On the other hand, Iran adheres to the United States lifting all the sanctions it imposed before returning to full compliance with the 2015 agreement. And Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said last week that his country has not yet witnessed any good-intention steps from the Biden administration regarding the Iranian nuclear file.
Diplomatic means
The US Secretary of State said in a tweet on Twitter that diplomacy is the best way to ensure that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon.
Blinken’s statement came in light of his welcoming of what he described as the wonderful start of the new US envoy on Iran, Robert Malley, in his work at the State Department.
Last Friday, France, Germany and Britain condemned Iran's decision to produce metallic uranium, considering it a violation of its obligations towards the international community, and undermining the chances of returning to diplomacy.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said, earlier last week, that Iran had proceeded with its plans to manufacture metallic uranium after Western countries informed them of its intention to produce the metal that could be used to make the nucleus of nuclear weapons.
Revive the deal
On the other hand, the Sultanate of Oman has expressed its willingness to help save the Iranian nuclear deal if requested to do so.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi said - during an intervention at a seminar organized by the American Atlantic Council - that the current US channels of communication with Tehran may be sufficient.
The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement yesterday, "In order to preserve the political space to search for a negotiated solution, we call on Iran to avoid taking any new measure that would exacerbate the situation."
Last Wednesday, Moscow expressed its fear that Iran would start producing uranium metal, as Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that this does not add optimism to the situation, calling on Washington and Europe to take a first step to restore the agreement by lifting economic sanctions on Iran.