Biden Sets New Demands for Iran Nuclear Deal Return: NYT
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – US President-elect Joe Biden will insist Iran should agree to new demands if it wants the US to return to the 2015 nuclear deal and lift sanctions, the New York Times said Wednesday.
The Times said the Biden administration would seek to extend the duration of "restrictions on Iran's production of fissile material that could be used to make a (nuclear) bomb" in a new round of negotiations.
Iran would also have to address its activities in the region in the talks that would have to include its Arab neighbors like Saudi Arabia, the report said.
US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018 and has reimposed sanctions on Iran as part of a so-called "maximum pressure" campaign against the Islamic Republic.
Biden, who defeated Trump at the ballot box last month, said during campaigning that he intends to offer Iran a "credible path back to diplomacy".
In the Times interview published on Wednesday, the incoming US president stood by those views, saying, "It's going to be hard, but yeah."
"Look, there's a lot of talk about precision missiles and all range of other things…," Biden was quoted as saying.
But, he added, "the best way to achieve getting some stability in the region" was to deal "with the nuclear program".
"In consultation with our allies and partners, we're going to engage in negotiations and follow-on agreements to tighten and lengthen Iran's nuclear constraints, as well as address the missile program," he told the Times.
Biden was cited as saying that the United States always had the option to international snap back sanctions if need be and that Iran knew that.
The 2015 nuclear deal -- known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA -- gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
In response to Trump's withdrawal, the Islamic Republic has retaliated by rolling back its commitments to the accord.