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An Iranian presidential candidate said on Wednesday that the United States needs to return to the Iranian nuclear deal to see better relations with Iran and the Middle East.
Former Iranian Central Bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati spoke with the Associated Press about the possible relations between the U.S. and Iran, but said he had yet to see anything "serious" from U.S. President Joe Biden.
"I think we haven't seen anything serious from Mr. Biden's side yet," Hemmati said. "They first need to go back to the (nuclear deal) that they withdrew from. If we see the process and more confidence is built, then we can talk about that."
The Iranian nuclear agreement was signed by the U.S. in 2015, granting Iran billions of dollars worth of sanctions relief in exchange for dismantling a majority of their nuclear program. Former President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018, leaving the plan in jeopardy.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
Abdolnasser said Wednesday he'd be willing to meet with Biden if he wins his country's election next week, though "America needs to send better and stronger signals" to the Islamic Republic.
Hemmati, 64, is one of the seven candidates approved by Iranian authorities to run for the presidency in the Islamic Republic's June 18 election. Polling and analysts suggest he lags in the race behind hard-line judiciary chief and front-runner Ebrahim Raisi, believed to be a favorite of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
While Khamenei has final say on all matters of state, whoever serves as president can affect domestic issues and set the tone for Iran's broader approach with the world. Outgoing President Hassan Rouhani, a relatively moderate cleric within Iran's theocracy, helped his nation reach its landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
However, Rouhani has struggled with the fallout of Trump's decision to unilaterally withdraw America from the accord in 2018. That decision saw crushing sanctions target Iran and Tehran later abandoned all the limits on its nuclear program. It now enriches small amounts of uranium to 60% purity — a record high, though still short of weapons-grade levels of 90%.
Talking to AP journalists at his Tehran office, Hemmati repeatedly said that the signal Iranians hoped to see from the U.S. was Washington's return to the nuclear deal.
"The Americans have sent positive signals but those signals haven't been strong enough," he said. "If there are stronger signals, it will affect how optimistic or pessimistic we are."
Asked about whether Iran would be willing to accept further restrictions, such as on its ballistic missile program to get sanctions relief, Hemmati said Tehran would refuse such an offer.
"Iran's nuclear commitments must be inside the framework of the (deal)," he said. "If they are not, neither the (supreme) leader nor the president will accept that."
