US Secretary of State says Iran has yet to prove it is willing to comply with nuclear deal, a condition for lifting of US sanctions.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken chided Tehran Sunday, saying Iran has yet to show it intends to adhere to the 2015 nuclear deal. Blinken said that the Islamic republic must prove that it will follow the deal in order for the US to lift its sanctions.
Speaking with ABC Sunday, Blinken said the burden of proof is on Iran to prove that it will follow the terms of the nuclear deal, and that Tehran has yet to convince the Biden administration it is willing to adhere to the limits imposed under the deal.
“Iran, I think, knows what it needs to do to come back into compliance on the nuclear side, and what we haven’t yet seen is whether Iran is ready and willing to make a decision to do what it has to do. That’s the test and we don’t yet have an answer,” Blinken said.
Blinken expressed concern of Iran’s support for terrorist activities across the Middle East. At the same time he criticized the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” approach, emphasizing the current administration’s desire to rejoin the nuclear deal.
“Iran is engaged in a number of activities, including funding extremist groups, supporting terrorism more broadly, supporting very dangerous proxies that are taking very dangerous positions throughout the Middle East, proliferating weapons.”
“Iran with a nuclear weapon, or with a capability to build one in very short order is going to act with even greater impunity in those areas. This adds to the urgency of trying to put the nuclear problem back in the box that the nuclear agreement put it in.”
“Many of these actions are going forward now…under the so called ‘maximum pressure’ put forward by the previous administration, which clearly did not get the result that we all seek, which is to curb all of these activities.”
“The first thing we need to do is get the nuclear problem back in the box, which is why we’re committed to see Iran will come back into compliance with the nuclear agreement.”
(Arutz 7).