Zarif Raps Biden Admin’s Commitment to Max Pressure Policy
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif highlighted the country’s seriousness in pursuing diplomacy, taking a swipe at the administration of US President Joe Biden for following its predecessor’s policy of maximum pressure on Iran.
“Iran’s ‘seriousness of purpose’ in pursuing diplomacy was tested in the three years since Trump withdrew from the nuclear accord. Iran—by remaining in the deal—passed with flying colors,” the top Iranian diplomat said in a post on his Twitter account on Thursday.
“The Biden administration, however, has only shown a commitment to Trump’s maximum pressure,” Zarif deplored.
His remarks came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Iran’s move to begin enriching uranium at 60 percent purity “provocative,” saying it raised questions about “Iran’s seriousness” over the ongoing negotiations to revive the JCPOA in Vienna.
“We take very seriously its provocative announcement of an intent to begin enriching uranium at 60 percent,” Blinken said at a news conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday.
“I have to tell you the step calls into question Iran’s seriousness with regard the nuclear talks, just as it underscores the imperative of returning to mutual compliance with the JCPOA,” he added.
Blinken’s remarks come irrespective of the fact that it was the US that left the JCPOA in 2018 in defiance of international criticism and although the deal was endorsed by the UN Security Council in the form of a resolution, Press TV reported.
Trump withdrew from the deal on May 2018 and then led a so-called maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic with the aim of forcing Tehran to negotiate what he called “a better deal” than the JCPOA, which was reached under his predecessor, Barack Obama.
