Iran will return to comply with the nuclear deal within an hour of the U.S. doing so, its president said – but faced further pressure from the Trump administration to leave after approving two Iranian officials for their involvement in the kidnapping of a former FBI agent. .
Hassan Rouhani also made it clear that he was not prepared to discuss any changes to the deal, or any obstacles to Iran’s ballistic missile program.
His remarks Monday came ahead of Wednesday’s meeting of the Joint Commission, an organization that brings together the current signatories to the nuclear deal, outlining their determination to lift U.S. disability sanctions.
If the U.S. under the new administration led by Biden. The Commission will be the first opportunity for Iran and European signatories to the deal – to discuss ways to return to the deal – France, Germany and the UK.
Iran came under fresh pressure on Monday when the United States first blamed the alleged death of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, who disappeared in 2007 on Iran’s Kish Island.
“Senior Iranian officials authorized the abduction and detention of Levinson and launched a disintegration campaign to remove the blame from the regime,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. Were held accountable. .
Meanwhile, plans to slow EU-Iranian relations have been scrapped by the execution of Iranian journalist and blogger Ruhullah Zam on Saturday.
The implementation called for the adjournment of a three-day international conference on how to promote economic partnership between Europe and Iran. Speaking at a conference of four EU envoys in Tehran and the conference, they spoke out against what he described as the “barbaric execution of Zam,” which was also condemned by Jack Sullivan, who was chosen as Biden’s national security adviser.
The timing of Jam’s execution, immediately before the conference, was seen by some as an attempt by some extremists to sabotage any compromise through economic contacts.
The European Union and the United States have stated opposition to using force or imposing sanctions on Iran. Criticism raises questions about how the issue could pose a major hurdle in building a rapprochement between Iran and the West. So far, Biden has said he wants to focus on the narrow issue of lifting sanctions first, and that Iran will rejoin the US deal in return for fully complying with its obligation to ban its nuclear program.
In his press conference, Rouhani said that European countries “have the right to comment, but the court’s verdict was hanged”, stressing that the judiciary is independent. “I don’t think this is likely to harm Iran-Europe relations.”
The president also lashed out at his internal critics, saying some wanted US sanctions on Iran to continue for another five years.
Ellie Geranmaih, a senior policy adviser to the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the episode would serve as a reminder to both parties that “human rights will be a fairly effective factor in how relations develop regardless of the fate of the nuclear deal.” .
Iran considered Jam not as a journalist, but as an agitator for street protests in 2017. A news agency close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said last week that he had been captured in Iraq and taken to Iran.
Pompeo also called the execution “unjust, barbaric.” To tweet: “Zam exposes the brutality and corruption of the regime, which has killed or arrested more than 860 journalists during its 41-year reign of terror.”
