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.



US Senate Report Faults Secret Service Discipline after Trump Shooting

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. President-elect Donald Trump will choose Sean Curran, right, as Secret Service Director.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. President-elect Donald Trump will choose Sean Curran, right, as Secret Service Director. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
TT
20

US Senate Report Faults Secret Service Discipline after Trump Shooting

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. President-elect Donald Trump will choose Sean Curran, right, as Secret Service Director.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. President-elect Donald Trump will choose Sean Curran, right, as Secret Service Director. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

A US Senate report released on Sunday said a "cascade" of failures allowed a gunman to shoot at Donald Trump during a campaign rally last year and faulted Secret Service discipline including the lack of firings in the wake of the attack.

The report, released a year after a 20-year-old gunman opened fire on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing his ear, accused the Secret Service of a pattern of negligence and communications breakdowns in planning and execution of the rally, said Reuters.

"This was not a single error. It was a cascade of preventable failures that nearly cost President Trump his life," the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee report said. The Secret Service is charged with protecting current and former presidents and their families, as well visiting foreign leaders and some other senior officials.

One attendee of the July 13, 2024, rally was killed and two others were injured in the shooting. The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was subsequently shot to death by Secret Service agents.

"This was not a single lapse in judgment. It was a complete breakdown of security at every level — fueled by bureaucratic indifference, a lack of clear protocols, and a shocking refusal to act on direct threats," the committee's Republican chairman, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, said in a statement.

Kimberly Cheatle resigned as the director of the Secret Service 10 days after the shooting, amid harsh scrutiny of the agency's role, and six Secret Service agents on duty during the attempt received suspensions ranging from 10 to 42 days, the agency said on Thursday.

The committee said more than six officials should have been punished, and that two of those who were disciplined received lighter punishments than it had recommended. It highlighted the fact that no one was fired.

Current Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in a statement that the agency has received the report and will continue to cooperate with the committee.

"Following the events of July 13, the Secret Service took a serious look at our operations and implemented substantive reforms to address the failures that occurred that day," Curran said.