Raisi also said requests by the West to resume negotiations for a possible revival of the 2015 nuclear deal – JCPOA – is useful only if they “ultimately” lead to the lifting “all oppressive sanctions” against the Islamic Republic.

The president also said Iran’s resistance against sanctions originates from its strategic rationality.

“Smart and dynamic resistance of Iran comes from strategic rationality,” Raisi told the largest UN gathering virtually.

Following is the text of Raisi’s speech:

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and His Peace and Blessings be upon Muhammad and His Pure Household and His Select Companions

Mr. President,

At the outset allow me to extend my congratulations to Your Excellency for your election as the chair of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Iran is the land of culture and civilization. The land of knowledge and spirituality. The land of perseverance and independence. The Iranian people are monotheist and patriotic. They have their unique identity and love to explore the world.

For hundreds of years, our nation have safeguarded their right to self-determination and freedom against the hegemonists and have made their country the most progressive in the election-based political system in the west of Asia.  The Islamic Revolution was indeed a great leap for the fulfilment of national and Islamic ideals of Iranians including freedom, independence and religious democracy.

I, as the elected President of the great people of Iran, am honored to be their representative to convey to the world at large the message of rationality, justice and freedom which are the three most fundamental principles of the life of the contemporary man. However, those three principles that all the Abrahamic religions have in common will not be able to attain their purpose without spirituality.

Freedom and justice as two sacred and innocent words that are too broad to define, are indeed very tough and intricate when it comes to practicing. Freedom means the right to think, decide and act for all the human beings. Peace and lasting security are tied to the administration of justice and, basically, the divine prophets emerged so that people would demand justice and exercise their rights. Justice and freedom may be achieved only when the rights of all nations are fulfilled. As a matter of fact, any violation of the rights of nations will, more than anything, endanger global peace and security.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This year, two scenes made history: one was on January the 6th when the US congress was attacked by the people and, two, when the people of Afghanistan were dropped down from the US planes in August. From the Capitol to Kabul, one clear message was sent to the world: the US’ hegemonic system has no credibility, whether inside or outside the country.

The world doesn’t care about “America First” or “America is Back” What is seen in our region today proves that not only the hegemonist and the idea of hegemony, but also the project of imposing Westernized identity have failed miserably. The result of seeking hegemony has been blood-spilling and instability and, ultimately, defeat and escape. Today, the US does not get to exit Iraq and Afghanistan but is expelled. And, at the same time, it is the oppressed people, from Palestine and Syria to Yemen and Afghanistan, as well as the US taxpayers, who have to pay for this lack of rationality.

Today, the world doesn’t care about “America First” or “America is Back”. If rationality prevails in the minds of the decision-makers, they have to realize that nations’ perseverance is stronger than the power of the superpowers. Over the past decade, the US has been making the mistake of modifying its “way of war” with the world instead of changing its “way of life”. An erroneous path cannot be brought to fruition by merely adopting a different method.

Sanctions are the US’ new way of war with the nations of the world. Sanctions against the Iranian nation started not with my country’s nuclear program; they even predate the Islamic Revolution and go back to the year 1951 when oil nationalization went underway in Iran, which in turn led to a military coup backed by the Americans and the Britons against the then government of Iran that was elected by the people. Sanctions, especially sanctions on medicine at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, are crimes against humanity.

Sanctions, especially at the time of COVID-19, are crimes against humanity. The Holy Quran introduces the destruction of nature and mankind as a major characteristic of the tyrants. The Islamic Republic of Iran proposes that any kind of sanction-induced restriction or disruption in the supply of good health and environment as two humanitarian issues, be declared forbidden. Moreover, I, on behalf of the Iranian nation and millions of refugees hosted by my country, would like to condemn the continued illegal US sanctions especially in the area of humanitarian items, and demand that this organized crime against humanity be recorded as a symbol and reality of the so-called American human rights.

Despite the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran was keen from the outset to purchase and import COVID-19 vaccines from reliable international sources, it faced inhumane medical sanctions. Therefore, from the very beginning, we started to sustainably produce vaccines domestically.

In addition to peaceful nuclear and satellite technologies, Iran is the medical hub of the region and numerous Iranian physicians and scientists, such as Avicenna, shine in the history of humankind. Knowledge that is beneficial to humanity cannot be sanctioned. We ourselves have been able to produce fuel for the Tehran research reactor which makes radiopharmaceuticals for more than one million cancer patients in Iran. We have also made astonishing progress in the area of biotechnology and stem cells in spite of all sanctions. And today despite all sanctions targeting human rights, we have become one of the manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines.

Cooperation amongst the countries of the world in the realm of health and especially on vaccines is tantamount to helping the spirit of humanity and the policy based of divinity-humanity in international relations. The Coronavirus is a wake-up call for the whole world, reminding us once again that the security of all human beings are interdependent. Crises in human societies, such as violence, poverty, unemployment, moral and economic corruption, collapse of family foundations, regional wars, organized terrorism and environmental crises are all the result of inattention to the principles of rationality, justice and freedom.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The strategic thoughts of the Islamic Republic of Iran are rooted in the ideas of the founder of the Islamic Revolution, the late Imam Khomeini (May His Soul Rest in Peace) as well as in the genuine concepts of true Islam, i.e. rationality, prudence and pondering and have resulted in the resistance in line with the national interests of countries. Speaking about the rights of nations without speaking of the obligations of their governments cannot bring about the fulfillment of their rights, as the independence of a nation is its freedom. The Islamic Revolution supports this kind of freedom and, hence, obstructs extremism. And this is the nature of the true strength of the Islamic Republic of Iran which does good to all.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is inspiring and, as such, the power emanating from it creates security. The security-making model of the Islamic Republic of Iran is based on forming intra-regional mechanisms through diplomacy that is pivoted on and free from outside interferences.

It has been our policy to strive for the preservation of stability and territorial integrity of all the countries of the region. If not for the power and role of Iran alongside the governments and peoples of Syria and Iraq as well as all the selfless efforts of Martyrs Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and General Qassem Soleymani, today ISIS would be the Mediterranean neighbors of Europe. And, of course, ISIS will not be the last wave of extremism.

The new drive to come up with Cold War-esque divisions will not help foster the security of humans by isolating independent countries. An arbitrary attitude is not the way to solve terrorism because terrorism has its roots in various crises such as identity and economy. The fact that modern lives have become devoid of meaning and spirituality as well as the spread of poverty, discrimination and oppression have helped the rise of terrorism. The increasing growth of indigenous terrorism in the West bears witness to this bitter truth. Even more bitter is the use of terrorism as an instrument for foreign policy because you cannot fight terrorism with double standards. You cannot make a terrorist group, such as ISIS, in a certain place and claim to fight it somewhere else.

After seeking the grace of the Almighty God, the solution to skirmishes and conflicts in our region lies in the following:

Making the will of nations rule over their own destiny by referring to the results of public vote. But in order for this to materialize, two basic preconditions need to be met: 1- halting the aggressions of the outsiders and occupation, and 2-sincere cooperation of governments to counter terrorism.

The military presence of the US in Syria and Iraq is the biggest hindrance to the establishment of democracy and will of nations. Freedom does not fit in the backpacks of soldiers coming from outside the region.

If an inclusive government having an effective participation of all ethnicities shouldn’t emerge to run Afghanistan, security will not be restored to the country. And like occupation, paternalism is also doomed to failure.

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is very worrying and the world needs to break its silence towards crimes against humanity. The solution? The speedy and unconditional stop to the Yemeni aggression, opening of channels for providing humanitarian aid, and facilitation of constructive talks between Yemeni groups.

The occupier Zionist regime is the organizer of the biggest state terrorism whose agenda is to slaughter women and children in Gaza and the West Bank. Today, an all-out blockade has turned Gaza to the biggest prison in the world. The so-called “deal of the century” failed just like any other deal forced on Palestinians. There is only one solution: holding a referendum with the participation of all Palestinians of all religions and ethnicities including Muslims, Christians and Jews. This solution was set forth by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran many years ago which is now registered as one of the official documents of the United Nations.

Mr. President,

Today, the whole world including the Americans themselves have admitted that the project of countering the Iranian people, which manifested itself in the form of violating the JCPOA and was followed by the “maximum pressure” and arbitrary withdrawal from an internationally recognized agreement, has totally failed. However, the policy of “maximum oppression” is still on. We want nothing more than what is rightfully ours. We demand the implementation of international rules. All parties must stay true to the nuclear deal and the UN Resolution in practice. Fifteen reports released by the IAEA have attested to the adherence of Iran to its commitments. However, the US has not yet discharged its obligation, which is lifting sanctions. It has encroached upon the agreement, withdrawn from it and levied even more sanctions on my people.

The United States mistakenly believed it would render us desperate and devastated, but our perseverance has yielded results and will always do, for the smart and dynamic resistance of the Islamic Republic of Iran comes from our strategic rationality. And we don’t trust the promises made by the US government.

It is the strategic policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran to consider the production and stockpiling of atomic weapons as forbidden based on the religious decree by His Eminence, the Supreme Leader, and Nukes have no place in our defense doctrine and deterrence policy. The Islamic Republic considers the useful talks whose ultimate outcome is the lifting of all oppressive sanctions.

While decisively defending all is rights and the interests of its people, Iran is keen to have large-scale political and economic cooperation and convergence with the rest of the world. I seek effective interaction with all the countries of the world especially with our neighbors and shake their hands warmly.

A new era has begun.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to play its part for a better world. A world brimful of rationality, justice, freedom, morality and spirituality.

Thank you all for your attention.

Peace and Mercy of Allah be upon you

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Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s permanent ambassador to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made the remarks in an interview published on Ayatollah Khamenei’s official website, khamenei.ir, on Wednesday.

During a last meeting with the outgoing President Hassan Rouhani and his cabinet team on Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei reminded how the Western side had been trying during the recent nuclear talks to include a condition in the deal that would turn into an excuse for subsequent interference in Iran’s affairs.

The Leader cited the Rouhani administration’s experience of dealing with the West on the issue of the nuclear agreement as an important case in point that had clearly shown “trust in the West does not work and will not work [in the future either].”

Since April Iran has been negotiating with the remaining parties to the nuclear deal with an indirect involvement of the U.S. to revive the deal ditched in May 2018 by Donald Trump. Six rounds of talks were held until June 20.

“Some of our diplomats really performed well, but the Americans stuck to their hostile position in an obstinate matter and they did not take a step forward. On paper and in words, they say that they will remove the sanctions, but they have not removed and are not going to remove them. The Americans have laid down a condition: they say that if we wish sanctions to be removed, we should include a clause in the agreement which signifies that we are willing to negotiate over certain matters in the future. They say that if we do not accept this clause, we will not have an agreement in the present time. What is this clause? This clause is actually a pretext for future interferences,” Ayatollah Khamenei warned.

The Trump administration left the agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and imposed the heaviest sanctions in history against Iran. It even refused to loosen sanctions during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Under the agreement, Iran had agreed to put limits on its nuclear activities in exchange for termination of economic and financial sanctions.

Washington’s European allies party to the accord—the UK, France, and Germany—just paid lip service to the JCPOA and in practice did nothing to protect Iran from illegal sanctions.

The sanctions were in sharp contrast to international law because the nuclear pact is being endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

In a move, pointed out by the Leader during the Wednesday meeting, they have even been trying to advance a provision that could pave the way for their meddling in the Islamic Republic’s affairs.

Gharibabadi went on to offer some details about the controversial provision and the reasons why it was completely unnecessary.

The West alleges that the so-called provision “guarantees the JCPOA’s nuclear non-proliferation” goals and also mandates certain “trust-building measures” among the Persian Gulf countries, the envoy said.

This is while there is no need for either, the envoy said. The nuclear deal has its own timetables that ensure implementation of its purposes, he said, adding the other demand runs strictly counter to the talks’ agenda too.

 “New pressure tactics”

Therefore, Gharibabadi said, the Iranian side roundly rejected the proposal since this insistence “showed that they still consider the nuclear agreement to be a bridge enabling their interference in irrelevant issues such as Iran’s missile work and its regional affairs.”

“The purpose they seek through this is to start addressing these [irrelevant] issues [on various occasions] and consider them to be indivisible parts of the nuclear deal, and [therefore] lay the groundwork for their interference in these areas,” Ambassador Gharibabadi asserted, according to Press TV.

Thus, wherever, the Western side stopped short of its goals, it would be able to start blaming Iran and begin trying to put it under more pressure, the diplomat cautioned.

The official echoed the Leader’s remarks during the Wednesday meeting that such insistence on the part of the Americans had come while they, themselves, had “refused to retrace even one step towards reversing their adversarial stance concerning Iran.”

Among many other things, the diplomat said, they conditioned the lifting of some of the sanctions and removing the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) from their so-called blacklist on Iran’s resigning itself to the provision.

Neither did they agree to recognize an overdue end to an embargo on sales of conventional weapons to Iran, nor approve of lifting their bans on more than 500 Iranian natural and artificial persons, the envoy explained.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has also censured the United States and E3 over their “ill-intention” with regard to Iran and trying to blackmail Iran into renegotiating the deal.

“The U.S. and E3 have been transparent about their transgressions and have repeatedly stated their ill-intention to compel Iran to renegotiate [the JCPOA] provisions through economic pressure and blackmail,” Zarif said in a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres published on Friday.

 “Counter-approach”

Gharibabadi went on to delineate Iran’s counter-approach in the face of the West’s attempted inroads.

He said that during the whole time while the West had been either violating its commitments to the deal or trying to bring Iran under new pressure, the positions adopted by the establishment and a law ratified by the Majlis (Parliament) mandating further remedial nuclear steps on the part of the Islamic Republic had, in turn, improved Tehran’s position in the talks.

Now, faced with the West’s new pressure tactics, the country would try, on the one hand, to guard its improved standing, and advance its interests on the other, Gharibabadi stated.

Towards the purpose, the country would never lose sight of the fact that it was the U.S. that began compromising the JCPOA in the first place, “so care should be exercised for the complainant and the defendant’s rolls not to be switched here,” the envoy added.

Besides, the Islamic Republic prioritizes insistence on the practical and verifiable lifting of the sanctions on its agenda, and also tries to ensure that the U.S. would never be able to redeploy the sanctions weapon against it either, he said.

Thirdly, Tehran would resolutely stand by its assertion that neither the talks nor the nuclear deal are allowed to feature any irrelevant subject matters such as Iran’s defensive missile program or its regional influence.

“No Iranian official or institution stands against achievement of a good deal that would bring about practical removal of the sanctions. However, given the past experience, one should tread more vigilantly and more perceptively,” Gharibabadi said in conclusion.

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In the midst of the Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people all across occupied Palestine, Austria suddenly grabbed the international headlines after it announced that the Israeli flag will be flown over government offices in a show of support for Israel.

In a statement sent to AFP, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz denounced the retaliatory attacks from the Gaza Strip against Israel, saying that he supports Israel in the face of these attacks.

“Israel has the right to defend itself against these attacks. To show our solidarity … we have put up the Israeli flag,” on the chancellery and the Foreign Ministry, the statement added.”

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg also was keen to keep up with his young boss. “We strongly support the security of Israel,” he said.

The Austrian position was met with a combination of anger and condemnation in the region. Iran and Turkey, which work hand-in-hand with other countries to stop the Israeli crimes against civilians in Palestine, both rejected the Austrian ill-advised move.

Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for the Turkish presidency, criticized Kurz’s move, saying it will only encourage Israel to continue its attacks on the Palestinian people.

“This is what encourages Israel to continue its attacks on Palestinian people,” Kalin said in a tweet, according to Anadolu Agency. “I hope those Austrians and Europeans with a sense of reason and morality will reject these disgraceful politics.”

Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay also denounced the Austrian position, saying it will tarnish the image of Kurz.

“With this attitude, the Austrian chancellor has put his signature under Israel’s massacre in Gaza,” Oktay asserted.

In Iran, the resentment was even more evident. Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, was shocked to see the Israeli flag fluttering over Austrian government offices.

Araghchi, currently in Vienna to lead the Iranian negotiating team in the Vienna nuclear talks, expressed dismay at Austria’s decision to hoist the Israeli flag.

“Vienna is the seat of IAEA & UN, and Austria so far [has] been a great host for negotiations. Shocking & painful to see flag of the occupying regime, that brutally killed tens of innocent civilians, including many children in just few days, over government offices in Vienna. We stand with Palestine,” he said on Twitter.

In the meantime, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was paying a visit to Spain on the first leg of a tour of several European countries including Austria. He was planning to visit Austria for bilateral talks. But the foreign minister canceled the visit at the last minute in protest over the Israeli flag display.

The cancellation raised serious doubts about Austria’s reputation as a fair host for international meetings. Austria used to boast about its ability to build relations with all countries and play host to important international events such as the Iran nuclear negotiations. To be fair, Austria has been a capable partner in facilitating or at least playing host to some most important international events. But the continuation of this status hinges on Austria’s ability to avoid taking sides in international conflicts, especially those Austria has no real interest in embroiling itself in.

Araghchi gently reminded the Austrian government that he is conducting talks in Vienna when he said he voiced resentment at the display of the Israeli flag. Araghchi is holding important nuclear talks within a distance of a few meters away from the Austrian Foreign Ministry building. So, the Austrian government must have taken into the account the fact that the flag display would elicit pushback from Iran.

Iran has every right to ponder over whether there has been an intention on the part of Austria to stymie progress in the talks. Israel has been doing everything in its power to derail the Vienna talks. The Israeli officials descended on Washington in the wake of the Biden administration’s decision to resume talks with Iran to dissuade it from entering talks with Iran but they failed to do so.

Israel then began a campaign of harassment against the Palestinians in the West Bank, namely in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, which resulted in the current tragic war on the Gaza Strip, one in which Israel killed a large number of children and women. Israel has sought to use this war to encourage the Biden administration into halting talks with Iran based on claims that Iran had supplied Gaza with rockets. So, is the Austrian government, wittingly or unwittingly, playing into the hands of the Israeli regime’s plan to undercut the Vienna talks?

Regardless of the nuclear talks, Austria now risks being fallen into disrepute in the eyes of hundreds of millions across the globe for its support for an armed-to-the-teeth regime cold-bloodedly killing civilians and putting the lives of journalists in grave danger.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was expected to pay a visit to Austria on Saturday but the visit was suddenly canceled. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Zarif abrogated his visit because he didn’t see it useful.

“Mr. Zarif did not consider the trip expedient in these circumstances, and therefore the visit’s arrangements were not finalized,” Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, told the ISNA news agency.

A Vienna-based journalist claimed that the cancellation was due to Austria flying the Israeli flag over government buildings.

“In a last-minute move Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif canceled his bilateral visit to Austria, that was planned for today, due to the Israeli flags on the roof of the Chancellery and the Foreign Ministry in Vienna,” Stephanie Liechtenstein said on Twitter, adding, “The Austrian Foreign Ministry just confirmed this to me and added: ‘This cancellation will not change our traditionally good relations and open channels of communication with Iran. But we will not make our statement of solidarity with Israel dependent on the diplomatic visits of other countries.’”

Earlier on Friday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, who is in Vienna for nuclear talks, also expressed dismay at Austria’s controversial decision regarding the Israeli flag.

“Vienna is the seat of IAEA & UN, and Austria so far [has] been a great host for negotiations. Shocking & painful to see flag of the occupying regime, that brutally killed tens of innocent civilians, including many children in just few days, over government offices in Vienna. We stand with Palestine,” Araghchi said on Twitter.

Diplomats from Iran and the P4+1 group of countries as well as the U.S. are in Vienna to discuss the measures needed to be taken to bring Tehran and Washington back into full compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Almost all parties to the negotiations said progress was made during the talks, though this progress did not amount to a complete revival of the JCPOA.

On Friday, Araghchi met with the Chinese envoy to the Vienna talks, Wang Qun. During the meeting, the two diplomats discussed the latest developments concerning the talks.

Over the past few days, the Iranian delegation in Vienna held several meetings with the P4+1.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) –  Representatives from major world powers and Iran continued talks on the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Friday in Vienna, with the U.S. and Germany both expressing cautious optimism about the state of the ongoing negotiations.

“The United States team put forward a very serious idea and demonstrated a seriousness of purpose on coming back into compliance if Iran comes back into compliance,” a top U.S. State Department official in the talks told reporters Friday.

The official said the U.S. is now waiting for Iran to reciprocate its efforts.

What are European officials saying about the talks?

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas described the ongoing talks as “constructive.”

“All sides showed a willingness to work with the necessary sincerity towards the same goal — the full implementation of the nuclear deal with Iran,” Maas told German outlet RND in comments published on Saturday. “It won’t be easy. We are only at the beginning of intensive negotiations.”

EU diplomat Enrique Mora called the talks “constructive and results-oriented.”  Permanent Representative of Russia to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said JCPOA participants “noted with satisfaction the initial progress made.”

Iran says U.S. must lift all Trump-era sanctions 

A tweet from Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif earlier in the day urged Washington to return to “full compliance first.” He said “anti-JCPOA” sanctions implemented under former President Donald Trump must be removed.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said prior to Friday’s negotiations there “are signs that the U.S. is about to revise its position and lift sanctions.”

Although the United States was an original signatory to the deal in 2015, Trump ordered the country’s withdrawal from the agreement in 2018. The U.S. maintained a “maximum pressure” policy towards Iran during the Trump era, severing its connection to the global financial system.

President Joe Biden has previously said his administration would be unwilling to remove sanctions unless Iran ceases its uranium enrichment.

Negotiations in Vienna are slated to resume on Wednesday.

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“As Iran’s FM [foreign minister] & chief negotiator, I will shortly present our constructive concrete plan of action – through proper diplomatic channels,” Zarif said on Twitter.

A French diplomatic source and another European official said on Thursday that Iran had given encouraging signs in recent days about opening informal talks after European powers scrapped plans to criticize Tehran at the UN nuclear watchdog.

Iran has so far refused to take part in a meeting brokered by the European Union between world powers and the United States on reviving its 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran’s nuclear policy is decided by the country’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and not the president of the government.

Tehran and Washington have emerged from former US President Donald Trump’s attempts to wreck Iran’s nuclear deal but are locked in a standoff over who should move first to save it. Trump pulled out of the landmark accord in 2018.

Britain, France, and Germany decided to pause the submission of a resolution critical of Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday to not harm the prospects for diplomacy, after what they said were concessions gained from Iran to deal with outstanding nuclear issues.

“JCPOA cannot be renegotiated—period,” Zarif said on his Twitter account.

Zarif was responding to Wendy Sherman, U.S. President Joe Biden’s nominee for deputy secretary of state, who said earlier that the facts on the ground have changed since the nuclear agreement was signed, calling for a “stronger” deal.

“I would note that 2021 is not 2015, when the deal was agreed, nor 2016 when it was implemented,” Sherman said during a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, according to Press TV. “The facts on the ground have changed, the geopolitics of the region has changed, and the way forward must similarly change.”

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The U.S. would be prepared to accept an invitation from the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy to attend a meeting of the countries that signed the 2015 nuclear agreement — Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, and Iran — “to discuss a diplomatic way forward on Iran’s nuclear program,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

The offer coincided with a tweet from the E.U.’s deputy secretary-general for political affairs, Enrique Mora, who said that the accord was at “a critical moment” and that he was ready to invite all the participants in the deal to “an informal meeting to discuss the way forward.”

Senior State Department officials told reporters that the announcement represented not a breakthrough but merely the first step on a potentially long, arduous diplomatic effort.

“I think we recognize that this is just a very first initial step to say that we are prepared to attend the meeting that would be convened by the E.U.,” a senior State Department official said.

“We recognize that that’s not in and of itself a breakthrough. Even the first meeting itself may not be a breakthrough,” the official said. “But it is a step. Until we sit down and talk, nothing’s going to happen.”

President Joe Biden promised during his campaign that he would be prepared to bring the U.S. back into the nuclear agreement if Iran returned to compliance with the deal’s restrictions on its nuclear work. Since Biden’s inauguration, administration officials have issued cautious statements and made no indication when talks might begin.

After several weeks when neither side appeared ready to make the first diplomatic move, the U.S. signaled its willingness Thursday to sit down at the negotiating table.

The senior State Department official suggested that it was up to the Iranians whether they would accept the E.U. invitation.

“We’ll find out, I assume in the coming days, whether they are prepared to join a meeting that the E.U. would convene. Of course, our hope is that they would, but we’ll just have to wait and see,” the official said.

Asked whether the Biden administration had spoken to Iranian officials over the past several weeks leading up to Thursday’s announcement, the senior official declined to answer directly.

“I’m not going to get into, sort of, the logistics of exactly who we spoke to,” the official said.

Since Biden’s election in November, Iran has flouted the agreement’s restrictions on its nuclear program. The Biden administration’s diplomatic green light came after Iran threatened to bar U.N. nuclear inspectors from gaining access to nuclear sites starting next week unless Washington lifts economic sanctions.

The State Department announcement came hours after a joint statement from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his British, French, and German counterparts following talks Thursday. In the statement, Blinken signaled that the U.S. would be “prepared to engage in discussions with Iran” about both countries’ returning to compliance with the nuclear deal.

The three European foreign ministers “welcomed  the United States’ stated intention to return to  diplomacy with Iran as well as the resumption of a confident  and in-depth dialogue between the E3 and the United States,” according to the statement.

The lengthy communique underlined an effort by Biden and European partners to present a united front to Iran after a bitter trans-Atlantic divide during the Trump administration.

Despite strong objections from the Europeans, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear accord, known as the JCPOA, in 2018 and reimposed economic sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy and prompted Tehran to flout restrictions on its nuclear activity.

The joint U.S.-European statement Thursday also included a stern warning to Iran not to follow through on its threat to block U.N. inspectors next week from gaining access to various nuclear sites, a crucial pillar of the deal. Iran’s Parliament adopted a law in November setting a deadline of Feb. 21, which is Sunday, to expel inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, if the U.S. fails to lift sanctions.

“The E3 and the United States are united in underlining the dangerous nature of a decision to limit IAEA access, and urge Iran to consider the consequences of such grave action, particularly at this time of renewed diplomatic opportunity,” the statement said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Europeans must abide by their own commitments and “demand an end to Trump’s legacy of Economic Terrorism,” arguing that Iran’s actions were responses to U.S. and European “violations” of the accord.

“Remove the cause if you fear the effect,” he tweeted shortly after the Western allies released their joint statement. “We’ll follow ACTION w/ action.”

Early Friday, Zarif tweeted that Iran would “reverse all remedial measures” if the U.S. lifts sanctions on his nation.

Amid Western warnings, the IAEA’s director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, was due to visit Tehran on Saturday to try to persuade Iran to hold off. Grossi planned to hold discussions with Iranian officials “to find a mutually agreeable solution for the IAEA to continue essential verification activities in the country,” said Fredrik Dahl, an agency spokesman.

Under the nuclear deal, Iran had agreed to snap inspections and monitoring of its nuclear work by the IAEA.

A European diplomat described the joint E3-U.S. statement as “more carrot than stick,” as it urged Iran to halt uranium enrichment that exceeded limits set out in the 2015 deal and not to follow through on threats to cut off the IAEA inspections.

Iran’s threat to bar U.N. inspectors is one of a series of moves that appear intended to ramp up pressure on Washington to move quickly to re-enter the agreement and lift the sanctions, which have devastated Iran’s economy, according to European diplomats and former U.S. officials.

The Iranian rial lost 80 percent of its value against the dollar during the Trump administration, pushing many Iranians into poverty, while the economy has sharply contracted. The rial briefly rallied after Biden’s election in November, but the currency is on the decline again, and Iranian leaders are increasingly eager to secure relief from the U.S. sanctions.

In violation of the nuclear deal, Iran has started producing uranium metal, which can be used for nuclear weapons, and it is now enriching uranium up to 20 percent — putting it one technical step away from weapons-grade levels.

Iran says it remains within the parameters of the 2015 agreement, arguing that it was the U.S. that violated the deal by withdrawing from the pact in 2018 and reimposing sanctions.

A rocket attack on a U.S.-led coalition base in the northern Iraqi town of Erbil on Monday, which killed a civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member, also threatened to complicate Western diplomatic efforts. The incident carried echoes of previous rocket assaults by Iranian-backed militias on U.S. targets, but the Biden administration has said it remains unclear who was behind the attack and whether Iran had any role in orchestrating it.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a rare phone call Wednesday with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, expressed concern about Iran’s failure to meet its obligations under the agreement and called for a more constructive tone that would open the way for diplomacy.

“It is now time for positive signals that create trust and increase the chances of a diplomatic solution,” Merkel said, according to a readout from Steffen Seibert, her spokesperson.

In another break with the previous administration to pave the way for diplomacy, U.S. officials Thursday withdrew a Trump administration assertion that all U.N. sanctions had been reimposed in September. Other signatories to the deal did not recognize the Trump administration’s action as valid. The acting U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Richard Mills, informed the U.N. Security Council of the move in a letter, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Senior State Department officials told reporters that the U.S. was also lifting additional travel restrictions that the Trump administration imposed on Iran’s U.N. mission in New York. The step will restore the status quo that existed before the Trump administration’s actions, which severely limited the movement of Iranian diplomats in New York.

“Today’s actions return our long-standing posture about Iran at the U.N. and in our view will strengthen our ability to work with allies and partners in the U.N. Security Council to address Iran’s nuclear program and other destabilizing activities,” a senior State Department official told reporters.

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“The US government knows what to do to achieve any successful diplomacy with Iran,” Ali Rabiei, the spokesman for the government, said in a televised news conference Monday. “They have to rebuild everything they have destroyed unilaterally.”

In a tweet last week celebrating the return of an American citizen imprisoned in Iran – released as part of a swap deal with Washington – Trump offered the prospect of an agreement if the Islamic Republic didn’t wait to negotiate until after this year’s US presidential election.

“Thank you to Iran, it shows a deal is possible!” he tweeted.

The prisoner exchange represented a rare sign of diplomacy between Washington and Tehran as the Trump administration continues to ramp up sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

Two years ago, Trump abandoned the 2015 pact that the US, Germany, France, Britain, Russia, and China negotiated with Iran and reimposed tough sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

“We see no indication that the tweets of the US president are true. The willingness of the US administration to engage in serious and fruitful talks [should] have signs that we do not see in these statements,” Rabiei said.

He said if the US is keen on talks with Iran, it can return to the same negotiating table with the remaining parties to the nuclear deal, which it has abandoned.

Bloomberg contributed to this story. 

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Kang Kyung-Wha, addressing the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament, said the goal remained complete denuclearization on the divided Korean peninsula.

“A speedy resumption of the US-DPRK negotiations is critical so that all stakeholders maintain and build upon the hard-won momentum for dialogue. We stand ready to engage with the North in a way that facilitates and accelerates the US-DPRK dialogue,” Kang told the Geneva forum.

South Korea was promoting talks with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, she said, using the formal name of the isolated country, North Korea.

“And we will do so adhering faithfully to the international sanctions regime on the DPRK,” Kang added.

North Korea has been subjected to UN sanctions since 2006. They have been strengthened by the Security Council over the years in a bid to cut off funding for Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

North Korea continued to enhance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs last year in breach of United Nations sanctions, according to a confidential UN report seen by Reuters in New York this month.

North Korea told the Geneva talks last month that as the United States had ignored its year-end deadline for nuclear talks, it no longer felt bound by commitments, which included a halt to its nuclear testing and the firing of inter-continental ballistic missiles.

There was no immediate reaction from the North Korean or US delegations on Monday as the meeting continued.

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