TEHRAN, Feb. 06 (MNA) – In response to a question about the timing of the US return to the JCPOA, the White House spokesperson Jen Psaki claimed that the ball is in Iran's court.

In a press conference on Friday, Jen Psaki, in response to a question about when US President Biden would like to try to come back to the table and get a deal on the Iran nuclear deal, said, "Well, that’s really up to Iran."

"If Iran comes back into full compliance with the obligations under the JCPOA, the Iran nuclear deal just for people who don’t like acronyms, I personally hate them, but the United States would do the same, and then use that as a platform to build a longer and stronger agreement that also addresses other areas of concern," she added, according to the briefing transcription published by Rev. 

"But that will be done in partnership with our P5+1 partners and also through consultation with Congress," Psaki said.

"And I know I keep saying this, but we are still only two and a half weeks into the administration. So this is part of how the inter-agency process should work, where senior members of the National Security team are meeting and engaging about a range of issues in the Middle East. But otherwise, it’s in Iran’s court to comply," the White House spokesperson claimed.

Joe Biden government officials have announced in recent days that they intend to return the United States to the JCPOA, from which the United States unilaterally withdrew in May 2018 in violation of its obligations.

However, the new US administration has not yet announced its mechanism for returning to the nuclear deal. Members of the Biden team make ambiguous statements that they intend to use the return to the JCPOA as a basis for strengthening and prolonging the nuclear deal.

After the illegitimate US exit from the JCPOA in May 2018, the three European signatories to the deal remained indifferent to making up for Iran’s losses.

Amid the Europeans’ lack of action, Iran took 5 steps to reduce its commitments to the deal while vowing that it will reverse the course as soon as the other parties live up to their commitments under the accord.

The Iranian parliament passed a bill, dubbed the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions in early last December, setting a Feb. 21 deadline for Biden to lift the US sanctions. Otherwise, Iran will halt inspections of its nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and further boost uranium enrichment. 

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