Iran on Saturday praised the Biden administration’s decision to end support for offensive operations in Yemen and press for a return to the Obama-era nuclear deal.
The country’s foreign ministry on Saturday praised President Biden’s decision on Yemen that would reverse a policy of supporting offensive efforts by the Saudi-led coalition that has sparked a humanitarian crisis. Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies in the Gulf are waging a brutal war against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, linked to Iran.
“The cessation of support … for the Saudi coalition, if not a political maneuver, could be a step towards correcting past mistakes,” said Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry. , according to state media.
The praise comes two days after Biden announced the turnaround, which followed growing concerns about the bourgeois fallout from the Saudi coalition’s offensive. The president also appointed veteran diplomat Timothy Lenderking as his special envoy to Yemen.
“This war must end,” Biden said in a speech at the State Department. “And to underline our commitment, we are ending all US support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.”
In addition to halting support for offensive operations, the State Department also said Friday it is repealing an 11th-hour decision by the Trump administration to call the Houthis a terrorist group, a label that critics had warned would be the delivery of humanitarian aid to areas under the rebels could hinder control.
While Iran praised Yemen’s moves, it also urged Biden to take concrete steps to get back into the nuclear deal with Iran. The pact was finalized in 2015 under former President Obama, but former President Trump
Donald Trump Chamber of Commerce CEO to Leave: Reports Fox News Media Cancels Lou Dobbs Show GOP Lawmakers Call on Pelosi to Be Fine for New Screenings MORE announced in 2018 that he was withdrawing the US from the deal.
“Time is running out for Americans, both because of the parliamentary bill and the electoral atmosphere that will follow the Iranian New Year,” Zarif said in an interview with the Hamshahri newspaper published on Saturday.
Iran’s parliament passed a bill in December giving the US two months to ease sanctions before further ramping up uranium enrichment. The deadline is February 21.
Biden campaigned to rejoin the deal, describing it as an important tool for curtailing Tehran’s nuclear program.
However, the deal requires commitments from Iran to reverse the uranium enrichment progress that has been ramped up since Trump’s withdrawal from the deal. Tehran resumed uranium enrichment to 20 percent in January – a level it reached before the accords and an important marker in the process of making weapons materials.
Biden has said Iran must return to its part of the deal to start negotiations on a broader deal, although Tehran has insisted that sanctions be lifted before any changes are made to its stock.
“The more America procrastinates, the more it will lose … it seems Mr. Biden’s government doesn’t want to get rid of Trump’s failed legacy,” Zarif said in the interview. “We don’t have to return to the negotiating table. It is America that has to find the ticket to come to the table. “