US Must Remedy Its Wrong First

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said it is the United States that must correct its wrong policies regarding the 2015 nuclear deal first, before Iran responds by resuming compliance. 
“It was the US that broke the deal, for no reason. It must remedy its wrong; then Iran will respond,” he said in a tweet on Tuesday. 
Former US president, Donald Trump, pulled Washington out of the multinational deal in 2018 and restored tough sanctions on Tehran, in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 that enshrined the agreement. 
In 2019, Iran reciprocated by suspending parts of its commitments as per the provisions of the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.  
Newly-inaugurated US President Joe Biden has said he would bring the country back to the deal, when Iran resumes strict compliance. 
Zarif’s remark came in response to this stance, which was recently echoed by France that said Iran must return to the terms of the nuclear deal, if it expects the US to rejoin the accord. 
“If they are serious about negotiations and if they want to obtain a reengagement of all the stakeholders in the JCPOA, they firstly need to refrain from further provocations and secondly respect what they no longer respect, that’s to say their obligations,” a French presidential official told reporters on condition of anonymity, Reuters reported. 
French President Emmanuel Macron had held talks this weekend with Biden on how to kick-start negotiations with Iran, as it continues to go beyond the deal’s limits.
The official did not spell out how a lifting of sanctions during a return to compliance would work, but said that the French and US administrations were clear on what needed to be done and how.
“We will have to ... see how the return of the United States to the JCPOA is paid for, with verifiable gestures on the part of the Iranians,” said the official.
Iran walked away from its obligations when other signatories stopped complying with their commitments and has no reason to take the initial step now. 
“Why on earth should Iran—a country that stood firm & defeated 4 years of a brutal US economic terrorism imposed in violation of JCPOA & UNSC Resolution—show goodwill gesture first?” he said in his tweet.
Iran has repeatedly said it can quickly reverse its measures if US sanctions are removed first. 
Otherwise, it will proceed with the requirements of a recent parliamentary legislation. 
The law, which was passed in December, obliges the government to harden its nuclear stance if US sanctions are not lifted in two months.
In accordance with the law, Iran has so far resumed enriching uranium to 20% fissile strength at a nuclear plant, a level Tehran achieved before striking the deal.
On Tuesday, Iran’s Government Spokesman Ali Rabiei said the first steps to restrict short-notice inspections would begin in the week starting Feb. 19 as required by the legislation. 
Under the accord, the International Atomic Energy Agency was given wide-ranging access to gather information on Iran’s nuclear activities, including the right to demand short-notice inspections of any site it deems necessary.