US takes substantial steps in the direction of nuclear diplomacy with Iran

The administration of US President Joe Biden has taken a step further to solidify the country’s foreign relations with Iran by agreeing to take the diplomatic path of negotiations. Soon after the acting US ambassador to UN, Richard Mills announced that claims made by former US President Donald Trump about UN sanctions on Iran have been reversed, the Biden administration took two steps further by easing the restrictions on Iranian diplomats in New York and agreed to share a diplomatic platform with all stakeholders who were involved in the original nuclear deal with Iran which was put in force in 2015. 

The deal initially included Iran and P5+1 countries, namely US, Russia, China, UK, France and Germany. 

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Ned Price, the spokesperson for the US State Department said, “The United States would accept an invitation from the European Union High Representative to attend a meeting of the P5+1 and Iran to discuss a diplomatic way forward on Iran’s nuclear program.”

Enrique Mora, the Political Director of the European Union has urged for an “informal meeting” while citing the need for the re-establishment of the agreement as it stands at a “critical moment”. 

Soon after Trump, who pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, vacated office in January 2021, Biden made his intentions clear about reinstating the agreement and demonstrated trust in the impact of the deal made in 2015. 

However, Iran has stood its ground in demanding the retraction of sanctions that were imposed by Trump after exiting the agreement, before going back to the original terms of the deal.

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A statement that addresses and responds to the recent actions taken by the US is still awaited by Iranian authorities, with an additional decision about Iran’s willingness to return to the path of fruitful diplomacy. In a letter, the acting US ambassador to the United Nations, Richard Mills, said that sanctions said to be reinstated in August “remain terminated.”