Highlighting 2015 Nuclear Deal at UN General Assembly, Iranian President: America Must Show Good Intentions

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at the 2023 UN General Assembly. (Source: PBB)

JAKARTA - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said at the UN General Assembly that the United States must prove its goodwill and determination to restore the 2015 nuclear deal, as no results have been obtained from months of indirect talks held by the two parties.

"By leaving the JCPOA, the United States violated the agreement and the principle of good faith. America must show its goodwill and determination," said President Raisi in his speech at the UN General Assembly, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Tehran and six world powers, reported by Reuters, September 20.

"America must build trust to demonstrate its goodwill and sincere will to fulfill its commitments and complete its course," said President Raisi.

Meanwhile, US and European officials have been looking for ways to curb Iran's nuclear activities since the collapse of indirect Washington-Tehran talks a year ago.

To ease tensions, the two countries reached a Qatar-mediated deal last month, resulting in an exchange of five prisoners each on Monday, involving Tehran's disbursement of $6 billion in South Korean funds.

It is known that the United States left the agreement under the leadership of Donald Trump in 2018. The reason was that the agreement was too generous to Tehran. He then reimposed harsh US sanctions on Iran, pushing Tehran to gradually violate the agreement's nuclear limits.

After taking office in January 2021, President Joe Biden tried to negotiate a restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal, under which Iran had limited its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief from the US, European Union and UN.

But months of nuclear negotiations stalled last September, and both sides accused each other of demanding excessive concessions.