Iran rejects IAEA call for new deal after Biden’s inauguration

Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Friday rejected the agency director’s suggestion that reviving the Iranian nuclear deal after the new US administration comes to power will require a new agreement.

On Thursday, Rafael Grossi, the head of the organisation monitoring Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement, confirmed many violations committed by Tehran. He asserted that the situation cannot return to its previous stateonce US President-elect Joe Biden takes office next month.

Biden affirmed that the US would join the agreement “if Iran returned to strict compliance” with the terms of the agreement.

After President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and re-imposed US sanctions, Iran responded by violating several of the agreement’s restrictions.

“Submitting an assessment on how to implement the obligations is completely beyond the agency’s mandate and should be avoided. The agency fulfilled its role in the negotiations on the nuclear agreement,” tweeted Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA in Vienna.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the architect of the nuclear agreement with the six major powers, has repeatedly stated that the measures taken by Tehran could be reversed if the USlifts sanctions and fully respects the agreement.