Supreme Leader: Iran to return to nuclear deal once US ends sanctions

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a wide ranging speech to the nation while marking the Persian New Year in Iran, said Iran would only return to the 2015 nuclear deal once the US removes the sanctions it has imposed on the Islamic Republic, Al Jazeera reports.

Khamenei highlighted his impatience with the decision of the administration of US President Joe Biden to maintain sanctions and continue a standoff that started almost three years ago when former President Donald Trump abandoned the multilateral 2015 nuclear deal.

“We shouldn’t burn opportunities, but we shouldn’t hurry either,” Khamenei said, adding: “We have a lot of patience and will continue to do our own thing. If they accepted and implemented our desired policy, everything will be fixed. If not, things will remain as it is and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

READ: Iran gives positive signals on informal nuclear talks, time short

In 2015, Iran and P5+1 (the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and China—plus Germany) and the European Union signed a nuclear deal preliminary framework agreement called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to limited the Islamic Republic nuclear capabilities.

In 2018, the Trump administration announced the US’ withdrawal from JCPOA and placed sanctions on Iran.