Iran Rejected EU’s Offer to Negotiate with US on Nuclear Deal

Tehran continues insisting that negotiations on a return to the JCPOA are possible only if Washington lifts sanctions against Iran. Tehran responded with a refusal to the European Union's proposal to hold an informal meeting with US representatives on the topic of returning to compliance with the terms of the nuclear deal. On the night of Monday, March 1, the Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement that a prerequisite for the start of such negotiations is the lifting of sanctions by Washington. According to a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the new US President Joe Biden continues the policy of his predecessor, Donald Trump, exerting maximum pressure on Tehran. US reaction to Iran's refusal to negotiate a nuclear deal Commenting on Iran's refusal to negotiate, the White House said it was disappointed with the response, but was still ready to seek diplomatic paths that would return to mutual compliance with the nuclear deal. It is expected that this issue will soon become the subject of discussion in the UN Security Council with the participation of the United States and other countries with veto rights, as well as Germany. On February 19, White House press secretary Jen Psaki warned that the United States did not intend to weaken the sanctions regime against Tehran to resume negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program. In February 2021, Brussels invited Washington and Tehran to meet and discuss the terms of compliance with the nuclear agreement. Earlier, on January 20, Joe Biden signaled his readiness to negotiate on this topic. Western nuclear deal with Iran The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed by Iran, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany in 2015. The agreement implied Tehran's refusal to produce and acquire plutonium or uranium metal for 15 years. The cessation of Iran's attempts to create its own nuclear weapons was encouraged by the lifting of international and national sanctions against the country. In 2018, then US President Donald Trump announced his unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA, and the resumption and tightening of economic sanctions. In response, Tehran also began to step by step back out of its obligations under the atomic agreement.