TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday urged the United States to lift all sanctions if it wants Iran to live up to commitments under its nuclear deal with world powers, state TV reported, his first comments on the matter since U.S. President Joe Biden took office.

“If (the U.S.) wants Iran to return to its commitments, it must lift all sanctions in practice, then we will do verification … then we will return to our commitments,” state TV quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying.

Former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. in 2018 from the atomic deal, which saw Iran agree to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Biden has said he will seek to revive the deal, but insisted that Iran must first reverse its nuclear steps, creating a contest of wills between the nations.

Jan. 26, 202120:36

“This is the definitive and irreversible policy of the Islamic Republic, and all of the country’s officials are unanimous on this, and no one will deviate from it,” Khamenei added Sunday, reiterating Iranian leaders’ previous remarks that the U.S. must ease its sanctions before Iran comes back into compliance.

The supreme leader, 81, has the final say on all matters of state in Iran and approved the efforts at reaching the nuclear deal in 2015.

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics

In response to Trump’s so-called “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, the country began to gradually violate its atomic commitments, and threatened further provocations in a bid to increase its leverage and get Biden to prioritise a return to the deal as he moves to dismantle Trump’s legacy.

Biden has signed a series of executive actions that reverse course on a wide range of issues, including climate change and immigration.

Following the killing last November of an Iranian scientist credited with spearheading the country’s disbanded military nuclear program, Iran’s parliament approved a law to block international nuclear inspectors later this month — a serious violation of the accord.

Iran also has begun enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels and said it would experiment with uranium metals, a key component of a nuclear warhead.

The country has announced its moves and insisted that all breaches of the pact are easily reversible.

Tehran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com

You May Also Like

‘Help me’: Texas man pleads guilty in kidnapping of teen who wrote dire escape note

A Texas man pleaded guilty Friday in the kidnapping of a 13-year-old…

These quinceañeras want their loved ones to do one thing: vote in the midterms

Victoria Silva was set to celebrate her quinceañera in March 2020, but…

China Signals Spying Fears Amid Probe of Consulting Firms

Share Listen (2 min) This post first appeared on wsj.com

Florida murder suspect accidentally drowns in Missouri river while on the run from authorities

A man who fled Florida over his alleged involvement in two murders…