Amir-Abdollahian: Biden cannot impose US' one-sided views

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Jul 2022 10:31

On his Twitter account, Amir-Abdollahian responds to Biden's opinion piece published in The Washington Post.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's foreign minister.

In a recent opinion piece published in The Washington Post, US President Joe Biden accused Iran of being diplomatically isolated in the 18 months he was in office, while also boasting over a US-led vote against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors on June 8.

In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian argued that "If window of diplomacy is still open, that's because of Iran's dynamic initiatives."

If window of diplomacy is still open, that's because of Iran's dynamic initiatives.@POTUS cannot impose US' one-sided views through accusation & sanction. Diplomacy is not a one-way street.

Reaching final agreement needs US' acceptance of realities, flexibility & initiatives.
— H.Amirabdollahian امیرعبداللهیان (@Amirabdolahian) July 11, 2022

"@POTUS cannot impose US' one-sided views through accusation & sanction. Diplomacy is not a one-way street," he added.

When it comes to the nuclear deal, Biden said, “With respect to Iran, we reunited with allies and partners in Europe and around the world to reverse our isolation; now it is Iran that is isolated until it returns to the nuclear deal my predecessor abandoned with no plan for what might replace it."

“My administration will continue to increase diplomatic and economic pressure until Iran is ready to return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, as I remain prepared to do so,” he wrote.

In response, Amir-Abdollahian stressed Monday that "reaching a final agreement needs US' acceptance of realities, flexibility & initiatives."

Doha talks didn't fail, will continue

In an interview for Al Mayadeen, advisor to the Iranian negotiating team, Seyed Mohammad Marandi, said "there was never any expectation that these negotiations would culminate in an agreement over a couple of days."

He added that Tehran does not take US officials' media statements seriously, noting that the Americans should provide the guarantees that Iran demands to confirm that "history is not repeated."

"Iran doesn't expect anything more, but it won't expect anything less", stressing that "there has been movements on the American side."

Marandi explained that the Europeans today are more interested in Iran because they are in need of its oil, due to the war in Ukraine, stressing the necessity of lifting sanctions so that Iran can implement the nuclear agreement again. He also stressed that the negotiations in Doha did not fail and will continue.

The top advisor considered that "the Americans will have to make some decisions; they have already moved and changed their position in the past few months," adding, "We don't know what will happen in Washington."

"Biden is under a lot of pressure at home ... and so are the Europeans because of the energy crisis," Marandi stated.