New York

Five American prisoners freed by Iran as part of a $6 billion exchange, arrived in the United States on Tuesday (September 20). While the former prisoners landed at Fort Belvoir in Virginia and were tearfully united with family and friends, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, addressing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York once again drummed up talks surrounding the 2015 nuclear deal

Advertisment

Raisi said the US should prove its "goodwill and determination", referencing the prisoners' swap, to revive the nuclear pact signed eight years ago. 

"These sanctions have not yielded the desired results. It is time now for the United States to bring a cessation to its wrong path and choose the right side," he told the UNGA.

"By exiting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the United States violated the agreement and the principle of good faith. America should demonstrate its goodwill and determination," added Raisi.

Advertisment

Watch | US-Iran Prisoner Swap: US and Iran to complete $6 billion prisoner swap deal

×

Prisoner issue separate from nuclear deal: Washington

Advertisment

The US has maintained that the prisoner issue was a separate matter from the halted talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, trashed by Biden's predecessor Donald Trump.

In 2018, the former Republican president reneged on the deal and restored harsh US sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to gradually violate the agreement's nuclear limits. 

It was one of the reasons why Germany, France and Britain recently refused to remove ballistic missile and nuclear proliferation-related sanctions on Iran that were set to expire in October. 

The original deal stated that some UN sanctions were supposed to be lifted on October 18, 2023, as part of the sunset clause which would have allowed Iran to import and export ballistic missiles and drones. 

Also read | Germany, France and UK refuse to lift sanctions on Iran under JCPOA

However, the three European nations, known as E3, wrote a letter to European Union External Affairs Chief, Josep Borell and said Tehran was in serious breach of the deal - meaning the sanctions could not be lifted.

Justifying the decision, the E3 said the agreement signed eight years ago contained mechanisms in case of any dispute about whether one side was in breach of the deal.

Iran has been selling killer drones to Moscow in the ongoing war against Ukraine. The US, aware of Tehran's stance, has imposed new sanctions on it as well. On Tuesday, Raisi channelled the aggression of the new sanctions and accused the US of worsening the Ukraine war. 

"The United States of America has fanned the flames of violence in Ukraine in order to weaken the European countries. This is a long-term plan, unfortunately," he said.  

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE: