FM Javad Zarif urges US to return to 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has urged the US to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and lift all sanctions against Tehran.

"Iran proposes logical path to full JCPOA compliance: the US, which caused this crisis, should return to full compliance first," Zarif wrote in a tweet on Friday.

The remarks by Zarif followed the meeting of diplomatic representatives of parties to the deal, including Iran, the UK, China, France, Russia and Germany, in Vienna on Friday with the lifting of sanctions on Iran and nuclear implementation measures on top of the agenda, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Iran will reciprocate following rapid verification" of the US compliance measures, Zarif said.

The Iranian foreign minister also urged the removal of all US sanctions against Iran, which according to him were "anti-JCPOA".

On Tuesday, the senior diplomats held the first round of their meetings to discuss the current stand-off in the JCPOA implementation in Vienna.

Under the deal, Tehran agreed in 2015 to roll back parts of its nuclear program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions.

The US under former President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and tightened sanctions on Iran.

The US and Iran are at a stalemate over reviving the nuclear deal.

US President Joe Biden's administration said that if Iran returns to full compliance with the JCPOA, Washington would do the same.

But Iran insisted that its compliance would only take place once US sanctions are removed.

--IANS

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