Nuclear Deal Renegotiation Ruled Out Again

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif once again ruled out the possibility of renegotiating the 2015 nuclear deal after a US official said a stronger deal was needed since the facts on the ground and the geopolitics of the region have changed since the signing of the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 
“JCPOA cannot be renegotiated—period,” he said in a tweet on Thursday. 
The United States quit the deal unilaterally in 2018 and reimposed tough sanctions on Tehran, which responded by reducing its compliance as per the terms of the agreement. 
The new administration of US President Joe Biden wishes to rejoin the JCPOA to “strengthen and extend” the accord.
Zarif’s remark came in response to Wendy Sherman, Biden’s nominee for deputy secretary of state, who had said on Wednesday that “2021 is not 2015, when the deal was agreed, nor 2016, when it was implemented,” so “the way forward must similarly change”. 
“If 2021 is not 2015, it's not 1945 either. So let's change UN Charter & remove the veto — so often abused by US,” Zarif said. 
“Let's stop posturing—which we both did 2003-12 to no avail—& get down to implementing JCPOA—which we both actually signed on to.”