Russia welcomes US intention to return to Iran deal

MOSCOW Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov welcomed on Tuesday the US intention to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal. Speaking at a news conference in Abu Dhabi, following a meeting with his UAE counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Lavrov said Iran and the US could make "synchronized steps" to restore the JCPOA. "We welcome the decision of the Joe Biden administration to return to the JCPOA. However, it has not yet been implemented, because in the US itself, as I understand it, there is a process of understanding how to do this," the minister said. Lavrov added that simultaneous steps on behalf of Iran and the US would allow avoiding disputes about who should take the first step forward. "If we now rest on who should be the first to return to compliance with their obligations, the bargaining can go on indefinitely," he said. The implementation of the JCPOA, signed in 2015, has stalled after the US unilaterally withdrew from it on May 8, 2018, and reintroduced sanctions against Iran in the field of oil exports. Exactly one year later, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that Tehran was suspending part of its obligations under the nuclear deal. On Jan. 5, 2020, Iran announced that its nuclear program no longer faces any operational restrictions.