Revival of JCPOA requires lifting of sanctions on Iran: Pakistani political scientist

Islamabad, Jan 30, IRNA -- A Pakistani political scientist and expert says if the US President Joe Biden is serious in joining the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) then first he has to lift sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran as a trust building measure. Hassan Askari Rizvi in an article published in Dunya news paper on Saturday said after unexpected ups and downs that let to Trump administration defeat, Biden is expected to work for improvement of the country's credibility and repair relations with allies. The Pakistani thinker added that Joe Biden could revive the nuclear deal signed between Tehran and world powers in 2015 by lifting US anti-Iran sanctions; an action that will benefit the parties of the JCPOA, the European countries and Iran's neighbors, especially Pakistan. He said Pakistan welcomes revival of the JCPOA and the improvement of bilateral relations with Iran and the lifting of sanctions, which will also ease tensions in the Persian Gulf region. Hassan Askari Rizvi added that the Biden administration is expected to review foreign policies of the Trump administration in the next two months. “In this regards, the lifting of sanctions on Iran will help expand Pakistan's relations with its neighbor Iran and much awaited Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project could also be completed,” he said. During a recent visit to Russia and Turkey, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif announced that the Biden government could potentially begin to de-escalate relations between Tehran and Washington. "We hope that the new US administration will be able to move bilateral relations with Tehran in the right direction." Zarif also told a news conference with his Turkish counterpart in Istanbul that the hopes of members of the new US administration, who claim that Iran would return to a nuclear deal, are neither logical nor will they ever be realized. He said the logic is that a country who left the agreement should return to it, and we who are still in the JCPOA will take the necessary measures.