President Joe Biden said the United States will not lift its economic sanctions on Iran in order to get Tehran back to the negotiating table to discuss how to revive the Iran nuclear deal, according to a video released by CBS News on Sunday.
Asked if the US will lift sanctions first to get Iran back to the negotiating table, Biden replied: "no" in the interview, which was recorded on Friday.
Asked if Iran had to stop enriching uranium first, Biden nodded.
A senior Biden administration official said the president meant to convey that Iran needs to stop enriching uranium beyond the limits permitted under the 2015 nuclear deal.
"They have to stop enriching beyond the limits of the JCPOA," said the official, referring to the deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. "There is nothing changed in the US position. The United States wants Iran to come back into (compliance with) its JCPOA commitments and if it does, the United States will do the same."
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that Tehran's "final and irreversible" decision was to return to compliance with the nuclear agreement only if Washington lifts its sanctions on Tehran.
The deal between Iran and six major powers limited Iran's uranium enrichment activity to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear arms in return for the easing of US and other sanctions.
But former US President Donald Trump abandoned the deal in 2018, denouncing it as one-sided in Iran's favor, and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.
