Iran warned it was going to reduce its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by ending the implementation of the Additional Protocol unless the US and its European allies save the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iranian MP Alireza Zakani said Sunday Tehran will terminate the Additional Protocol under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) unless the US and European countries took urgent steps to lift sanctions.
Iranian agencies quoted Zakani as saying that the nuclear agreement “will not remain if the sanctions are not lifted.”
Iranian authorities are expected to breach a nuclear threshold that worries observers and the parties of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Under a law passed in December by Iran's parliament, dominated by hardliners, the government should curtail the activities of IAEA inspectors if sanctions are not lifted.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has demanded that the US sanctions be eased by February 21.
Intelligence Minister, Mahmoud Alawi, hinted that his country could change the course of its current program to produce nuclear weapons if Western pressure continued.
A number of lawmakers said Alawi should be questioned for his comments, warning that they have political implications that could create issues for the country.
Zarif was supposed to hold a closed meeting with members of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission to discuss the required steps to return to the nuclear deal.
IRNA agency quoted the commission's spokesman, Fadl Amoudi, as saying that Zarif did not attend the meeting due to health reasons, without providing details.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden is determined to salvage the nuclear agreement, which was abandoned by his predecessor Donald Trump, said a report published by the Agence-France Presse (AFP).
Biden, however, will not be rushed into re-joining the deal, despite the series of deadlines coming up. The president is ready to rejoin the deal, thus lifting the strict sanctions imposed by Trump, if Tehran commits to the articles of the agreements.
Meanwhile, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association in Washington, Kelsey Davenport, said that Iran can quickly undo most of its recent breaches, such as uranium enrichment.
"But the steps that are coming, I think, do pose a more significant risk and are more difficult to reverse," she said, warning that any loss of access would fuel speculation that Tehran is engaged in illicit activities.
Iran will hold parliamentary elections in June that could bring to power the hardliners, which could complicate the situation.
Last January, US envoy to Iran, Rob Malley, told the Italian newspaper "Corriere della Sera" that even if the hardliners won the elections, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has the final say in how to deal with Washington.
In turn, a former EU diplomat warned that February 21 is fast approaching and “it is imperative” that diplomacy happens.
Another European source believes it is necessary to ensure the threshold is not crossed on that date, noting that Russia and China also view a further breach as a red line.
Jon Wolfsthal, who advised Biden when he was Obama's vice president, told AFP that the US and Iran, along with other JCPOA nations, could issue a statement before February 21 “that would show their mutual intent to return to full compliance.”
State Department spokesman Ned Price reiterated Friday that the United States is "not looking at any particular deadline" when asked about February 21.
Officially, the Biden administration has been coordinating with European allies and other signatories of the agreement.
A former adviser to Obama suspects that US officials have already engaged with Iranian officials in a number of ways.
Thomas Countryman, who was a top aide in the Obama administration, indicated that Biden could immediately lift some sanctions to show “good faith.”
"Because of the domestic political situation in both countries, I think they've got to find a way to say, we did not give in to pressure," notes Countryman.
Last week, Zarif suggested that the EU play a role to “choreograph” between Tehran and Washington, however, Iran later rejected a French mediation proposal.
