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The Biden Administration on Tuesday called on Iran not to condition a return to the 2015 nuclear deal on the U.N. nuclear agency closing its investigation into undeclared uranium traces by Tehran.
State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel, in a telephone press briefing, said he does not believe that reimplementation of the nuclear deal should be conditioned on the investigation.
Patel referred to statements by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who on Monday said that in order to save the atomic agreement, it is necessary to resolve the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) investigation into uranium traces found in undeclared locations.
In response to this demand, the State Department deputy spokesman stressed that the United States supports the IAEA’s efforts “to clarify and resolve” the finding of uranium traces.
Iran has been negotiating for 16 months with Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, China, and, indirectly, with the United States the restoration of the 2015 nuclear agreement, which limited the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions and which was abandoned in 2018 by the then President, Donald Trump.
The European Union (EU) presented a “final text” during the latest round of negotiations in Vienna earlier this month.
Iran sent its considerations on the text last August 16 to the EU, which mediates between Tehran and Washington, and the Biden administration responded last Wednesday to its demands in a text that has not been made public.
The Iranian government demands to close the IAEA investigation and demands guarantees that a future US administration will not unilaterally abandon the deal.
