Riyadh's French Spox. Makes New Demands on Iran Nuclear Deal

The French president told the Atlantic Council via video conferencing from Paris that he supports the return of the United States to the Iran nuclear deal or the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

In addition to welcoming the renewed US willingness to engage with Iran, according to Reuters, the French president offered himself as "an honest broker" and said Saudi Arabia and Israel regime must ultimately be involved somehow.

After the illegitimate US exit from the JCPOA in May 2018, the three European signatories to the deal remained indifferent to making up for Iran’s losses.

Amid the Europeans’ lack of action, Iran took 5 steps to reduce its commitments to the deal while vowing that it will reverse the course as soon as the other parties live up to their commitments under the accord.

The Iranian parliament passed a bill, dubbed the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions in early last December, setting a Feb. 21 deadline for Biden to lift the US sanctions. Otherwise, Iran will halt inspections of its nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and further boost uranium enrichment. 

Iran has so far resumed 20% uranium enrichment at Fordow plant in accordance with the Parliament’s legislation and has warned that in the case Washington does not remove all the anti-Iran illegitimate sanctions, it will also stop voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol, which gives IAEA inspectors unannounced visits to Iranian facilities.