Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in a direct appeal to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, said his country was willing to return to full compliance with its nuclear deal with world powers if Washington does. If he “returns to the situation as it was in 2017, then so will we,” said Rouhani, who staked his reputation on the success of the accord only to see it unravel after U.S. President Donald Trump took office that year.
While Rouhani insisted that the U.S. has to “make up for its past mistakes,” he also signaled that reparations for sanctions damage wouldn’t be a precondition for reviving the agreement.
The president also expressed willingness to meet with Biden if the U.S. lifts sanctions and returns to the agreement. If a meeting “were possible this hour, I wouldn’t postpone it to the next,” he said.