US President Joe Biden said last month that the nuclear agreement to limit Iran's nuclear program was "dead," but he would not announce that publicly, according to a video that surfaced Tuesday.
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The video, which appears genuine and was apparently recorded on Nov. 3 during Biden's visit to California, shows him being asked by a woman, an apparent activist, to announce that the deal – officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – is no longer in effect.
"President Biden, could you please announce that the JCPOA is dead," the woman, who appears to wear a hair ribbon in Iran's flag colors, asks as Biden passed by shaking hands.
"No," Biden replied.
"Why not?" the woman retorted.
"It is dead, but we are not going to announce it," the US leader said, adding that it was a "long story."
The woman, and others next to her, urged him to not make deals with the Tehran government: "They don't represent us," she said. "They are not our government," another added.
"I know they don't represent you. But they will have a nuclear weapon," Biden said, as the video clip ended.
Asked about the video, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said nobody was questioning its authenticity. He said Washington still wants to restore the JCPOA, but that doing so is not a priority, given the war in Ukraine.
"The president's comments are very much in line with everything we've been saying about the JCPOA, which is just not our focus right now," Kirby told reporters. "There is no progress happening with respect to the Iran deal now. We don't anticipate any progress anytime in the near future."
Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said during a regional summit in Jordan that Tehran was "ready to reach the last step, provided all sides are realistic, including collaboration between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency." He met with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on the sidelines of the summit.
Borrell later tweeted that the meeting was "necessary" amid "deteriorating Iran-EU relations." The official also said that the sides agreed to "keep communications open and to restore the accord on the basis of the Vienna negotiations."
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
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