Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi demands US guarantee to resume nuclear deal

In an interview on Monday (Sept 19), Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stated that Tehran would be serious about resuming a deal on its nuclear programme if the US promised to not withdraw from it.

Iran's foreign minister last month urged UN atomic watchdogs to stop interfering in Tehran's nuclear work and stated that Tehran needs a firmer guarantee from Washington to resume the 2015 deal. According to the agreement, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear programme in exchange for relief from economic sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations.

In an interview with CBS, Raisi said, "If it’s a good deal and fair deal, we would be serious about reaching an agreement," Reuters reported.

In his last week's UN General Assembly visit, Raisi said, "It needs to be lasting. There need to be guarantees. If there were a guarantee, then the Americans could not withdraw from the deal. " He further stated that the Americans broke the commitment on the deal.

They did it unilaterally. They said, 'I am out of the deal.' Now making promises is becoming meaningless," he said. "We cannot trust the Americans because of the behaviour that we have already seen from them. That is why if there is no guarantee, there is no trust, "Raisi said, Reuters reported.

During the months of negotiations in Vienna, Tehran requested that no future US president violate the agreement, as former President Donald Trump did in 2018. These negotiations in March seemed as if they could be revived, but due to indirect negotiations between both, they collapsed on a number of issues.

However, there has been no indication that both Tehran and Washington would be able to overcome their impasse. Iran is anticipated to utilise the UN General Assembly to keep the diplomatic process moving, desiring to establish a lasting agreement.

However, because the agreement is a political understanding rather than a legally binding treaty, President Joe Biden is unable to give Iran the guarantee.

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