Zarif Says Iran to Meet Nuclear Commitments if Biden Lifts Sanctions

A file picture shows Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during a news conference in Tehran on August 5, 2019. AFP
A file picture shows Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during a news conference in Tehran on August 5, 2019. AFP
TT
20

Zarif Says Iran to Meet Nuclear Commitments if Biden Lifts Sanctions

A file picture shows Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during a news conference in Tehran on August 5, 2019. AFP
A file picture shows Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during a news conference in Tehran on August 5, 2019. AFP

Iran said Wednesday it would "automatically" return to its nuclear commitments if US President-elect Joe Biden lifts sanctions.

Tehran again meeting its commitments "can be done automatically and needs no conditions or even negotiations," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in comments published in the state-run Iran daily.

Once in the White House, Biden could "lift all of these (sanctions) with three executive orders," Zarif argued.

If Biden's administration does so, Iran's return to nuclear commitments will be "quick", the minister added, AFP reported.

Washington's return to the deal, however, could wait, Zarif added.

"The next stage that will need negotiating is America's return... which is not a priority," he noted, adding that "the first priority is America ending its law-breaking".

Zarif said that although outgoing US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the JCPOA, he did not withdraw the country from the UN and thus must carry out the decisions of the UN Security Council.

"As a UN member and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the US is duty-bound to implement Resolution 2231," Zarif stressed.

For his part, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the Trump administration "unruly", and said a Biden administration could "bring back the atmosphere" that prevailed in 2015 at the time of the nuclear deal.



Fragile Ceasefire Holding, Witkoff Says Peace Talks with Iran 'Promising'

People attend a gathering to support Iran's Armed Forces, after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, in Tehran, Iran, June 24, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
People attend a gathering to support Iran's Armed Forces, after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, in Tehran, Iran, June 24, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
TT
20

Fragile Ceasefire Holding, Witkoff Says Peace Talks with Iran 'Promising'

People attend a gathering to support Iran's Armed Forces, after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, in Tehran, Iran, June 24, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
People attend a gathering to support Iran's Armed Forces, after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, in Tehran, Iran, June 24, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

The ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump between Iran and Israel appeared to be holding on Wednesday a day after both countries signaled that their air war had ended, at least for now.

Each side claimed victory on Tuesday after 12 days of war, which the US joined with airstrikes in support of Israel to take out Iran's uranium-enrichment facilities.

Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said late on Tuesday that talks between the United States and Iran were "promising" and that Washington was hopeful for a long-term peace deal.

"We are already talking to each other, not just directly but also through interlocutors. I think that the conversations are promising. We are hopeful that we can have a long-term peace agreement that resurrects Iran," Witkoff said in an interview on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" show.

"Now it's for us to sit down with the Iranians and get to a comprehensive peace agreement, and I am very confident that we are going to achieve that," he added, according to Reuters.

Trump's administration told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that its weekend strikes had "degraded" Iran's nuclear program.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the attack had removed the nuclear threat against Israel and he was determined to thwart any attempt by Tehran to revive its weapons program.

"We have removed two immediate existential threats to us: the threat of nuclear annihilation and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles," he said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country had successfully ended the war in what he called a "great victory," according to Iranian media.

Israel launched the surprise air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders.

Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities.