The Iranian president reportedly said that the Middle Eastern country would return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal “within an hour” of the United States rejoining the international pact.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also said he would not be open to considering any changes — nor would he agree to any attempts to constrain the country’s ballistic missile program, according to the Guardian.
Rouhani previously opposed a bill passed by the Iranian Parliament and approved by the state’s top legislative watchdog group on Dec. 2 that would force the Iranian energy agency to return uranium enrichment to levels not seen in the country since Iran and the U.S. agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2015.
The announcement came days before a meeting of the European joint commission that oversees the deal and brings together the signatory nations — Iran, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Representatives from Russia and China will also be present at the meeting.
That meeting will be the first opportunity for the nations to consider the U.S.’s reentry into the deal, which President-elect Joe Biden has said he would pursue provided that Iran returns to “strict compliance with the nuclear deal,” according to the Washington Post.
Relations between Iran and the U.S. have been strained in recent weeks.
Iran blamed U.S. ally Israel for the assassination of its top nuclear scientist, and the U.S. announced earlier in December that it was limiting personnel at the Baghdad Embassy in fear of retaliation on the anniversary of the drone-strike killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. On Monday, the Trump administration for the first time blamed Iran for the presumed death of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, according to Politico.
“Senior Iranian officials authorized Levinson’s abduction and detention and launched a disinformation campaign to deflect blame from the regime,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. “The abduction, detention, and probable death of Mr. Levinson is another egregious example of the regime’s callous disregard toward human life.”
Pompeo on Monday also criticized Iran’s execution of Iranian journalist Ruhollah Zam, an event that led to a three-day international conference about promoting economic partnerships between Iran and Europe being postponed, with four European Union envoys who were scheduled to speak at the event pulling out entirely.
“The U.S. strongly condemns Iran’s unjust, barbaric execution of Ruhollah Zam, an Iranian journalist kidnaped abroad by the regime,” Pompeo tweeted. “Zam exposed the brutality and corruption of the regime, which has killed or arrested more than 860 journalists in its 41-year reign of terror.”
The U.S. strongly condemns Iran’s unjust, barbaric execution of Ruhollah Zam, an Iranian journalist kidnapped abroad by the regime. Zam exposed the brutality and corruption of the regime, which has killed or arrested more than 860 journalists in its 41-year reign of terror.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) December 14, 2020
