In reaction to recent remarks of US President, Russia's Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov in a tweet on late Sunday wrote, "This is what we were afraid of. Both #US and #Iran are willing to restore full implementation of the #JCPOA but engage in fruitless and counterproductive dispute regarding who is to make the first step."
"It is obvious that the only way forward is to synchronise the relevant steps," he added.
His tweet came as the US President Joe Biden in an interview with CBS claimed that the United States will not lift sanctions against Iran as a means to resuming negotiations, and Tehran needs to stop its uranium enrichment activities first.
Speaking to CBS Evening News on Sunday, and asked whether the US would lift its crushing sanctions against the Islamic Republic "to get Iran back to the negotiating table," Biden answered simply "No."
"They'd have to stop enriching uranium first?" his interviewer probed, prompting Biden to nod in agreement.
The remarks are a repetition of similar claims made earlier by the White House spokesperson Jen Psaki, claiming 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."
On Sunday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei highlighted that Iran will not return to its commitments unless the US lifts all sanctions and Tehran verifies Washington's measures.
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 five 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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