The Biden Administration wants Iran to come back to the bargaining table to discuss reestablishing the nuclear deal that had been negotiated during the Obama Administration, a multi-national agreement the Trump Administration subsequently violated and pulled the United States from, the Washington Post reports.
Donald Trump reinstituted sanctions, and implemented an estimated 1,500 new ones, against Iran even though his administration determined that Iran was in technical compliance with the 2015 agreement. The other nations–China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and Germany–continued to encourage Iran to adhere to the agreement. Iran declined.
Iran announced it would begin again to enrich uranium in May 2019, a year after the US negated the agreement, known a the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Both the United States and Iran have expressed a desire to restart negotiations since Joe Biden became president. To reenter the agreement, Iran wants all sanctions to be lifted, a release of cash frozen in foreign banks, and assurance that the United States will not again void the agreement when a new administration comes into office.
“We are talking about both sides returning into compliance . . . and only then engaging in follow-on negotiations on strengthening and lengthening the deal and addressing other concerns, knowing that Iran will bring its concerns to the table, too,” a senior Biden official said.