US President Joe Biden's administration is weighing removing sanctions on Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as part of efforts to promote a return to the 2015 nuclear deal, according to a report by NBC News.
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NBC News was the first US outlet to report on the possibility the sanctions would be rescinded following a report by the London-based Iran International earlier this week.
The US State Department did not deny the possibility sanctions imposed on Khamenei could be rescinded.
"Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, a State Department spokesman was quoted as saying by the NBC report.
"The precise nature and sequence of the sanctions-related steps that the United States would need to take to achieve a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA objectives is a subject of the talks," the spokesman said.
According to the NBC News report, US and Iranian negotiating teams had discussed the possibility of such a US step, within the framework of talks in Vienna, as one of several mutual steps to be taken to return to compliance with the 2015 deal.
Vali Nasr, a professor at Johns Hopkins University who served as a US diplomat under President Barack Obama told NBC News: "I think that's definitely an Iranian demand, and I think the US is open to it."
Former US President Donald Trump targeted Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials with sanctions in June 2019 following Tehran's downing of an unmanned American drone, an incident that almost brought the two sides to a full-fledged confrontation.
According to experts and former US officials, the sanctions have not had any impact on the supreme leader as Khamenei does not leave the country and has no assets outside of Iran.
In a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: "There will come a point, yes, where it will be very hard to return back to the standards set by the JCPOA," referring to the Iran nuclear deal.
As for Iran's stalling on a decision whether to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to continue monitoring the country's nuclear program, he said: that "this remains a serious concern.
"The concern has been communicated to Iran and needs to be resolved," he said.
"We still have significant differences with Iran," Blinken said, adding that he hoped a resumption of talks in the coming days could settle them. "We are just not there yet."
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