Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has demanded “guarantees” from the US that it will not back away from the deal ahead of his country’s possible approval of a renewed international nuclear deal. He still supports a “good” and “fair” agreement, but it must be ensured that it lasts, Raisi told the US broadcaster CBS on Sunday shortly before his departure for the general debate at the UN General Assembly in New York.
After past experiences, his country no longer has confidence in the United States, said Raisi. That is why there will be no trust “without guarantees”.
The nuclear deal with Iran was negotiated in 2015 under then US President Barack Obama with the participation of China, Russia, France, Great Britain and Germany. It should prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. The so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) provides for Iran to limit its nuclear activities and in return benefit from an easing of international sanctions.
Under Obama’s successor, Donald Trump, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018. As a result, Iran gradually no longer kept its commitments.
US President Joe Biden advocates renegotiating the agreement, but Tehran’s guarantee demands are blocking the current talks in Vienna. According to its own statements, the US government cannot give these guarantees because it has no influence on the decisions of future presidents.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently accused Tehran of continuing its uranium enrichment far beyond the limits agreed in the nuclear deal. She said she could not “guarantee that Iran’s nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful.” It is increasingly questionable whether there will actually be a new edition of the agreement.
Hardliner Raisi succeeded the relatively moderate President Hassan Rouhani last year. Both sides ruled out a meeting with Biden on the sidelines of the UN assembly.
