Nuclear deal: Khamenei insists on lifting US sanctions against Iran

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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: "This position is supported by all sides in the country"

Photo: Iranian Supreme Leader S Office / imago images / ZUMA Wire

Iran continues to insist on lifting US sanctions as a prerequisite for its return to the international nuclear deal.

"If they want Iran to return to its commitments, America must lift its sanctions completely, and not just in words or on paper," said the spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a speech televised to Air Force commanders on Sunday.

"This position is supported by all sides in the country, and nothing can be done about it," added Khamenei.

According to the Iranian constitution, he has the final say on all strategic matters.

President Hassan Ruhani and Foreign Minister Mohammed Jawad had made similar statements earlier.

Now the Iranian leadership is also expressly demanding that the US take the first step.

Khamenei said: "Neither the Americans nor the Europeans have the right to make demands on Iran because - unlike Iran - they have not kept their obligations."

After years of negotiations in Vienna, Iran had agreed to an international agreement on its nuclear program.

This should also prevent the country from getting hold of atomic bombs.

However, the former US President Donald Trump unilaterally terminated the agreement he considered inadequate in 2018 and then put massive economic sanctions in place against Tehran, which contributed to the worst economic crisis in recent Iranian history.

Then Iran gradually withdrew from the agreement.

Trump's successor Joe Biden has signaled a fundamental willingness to allow the US to rejoin the nuclear deal.

However, Washington and Tehran disagree on who should take the first step and under what conditions.

Biden insists that Iran abide by its obligations under the agreement for the time being.

Tehran, on the other hand, demands the lifting of US sanctions and has proposed the EU as a mediator in the nuclear dispute.

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wit / dpa / AFP