In an interview with New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman, Biden without referring to his new preconditions said he still stands by his views on the Iran nuclear and returning to the deal, saying, “It’s going to be hard, but yeah.”
He had previously said that “if Iran returns to strict compliance with the nuclear deal, the United States would rejoin the agreement as a starting point for follow-on negotiations,” and lift the sanctions on Iran that Trump imposed.
The nuclear deal — known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPO.) — was signed in 2015. Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in May 2018, reimposing sanctions on Iran, claiming it was a bad deal to begin with and that Iran was cheating — which was not the view of the European allies or international inspectors.
Following the interview, Freidman said, “The view of Biden and his national security team is that once the deal is restored by both sides, there will have to be, in very short order, a round of negotiations to seek to lengthen the duration of the restrictions on Iran’s production of fissile material as well as to address Iran’s regional activities."
MNA/FNA 13990912000181/PR