Iran states US Policy on Nuclear Deal as 'Contradictory

Tehran slammed Washington's "contradictory" policies on Tuesday, after President Joe Biden promised to pile pressure on Iran ahead of a visit to US allies in the Middle East. Biden has been working to resurrect the Iran nuclear deal that his predecessor, Donald Trump, abandoned, but he has refused to lift sanctions on the Islamic republic until it returns to compliance with the agreement.

Biden cited the "rapid acceleration" of Iran's nuclear programme after Trump "reneged on a nuclear deal that was working" in an opinion piece for the Washington Post ahead of his visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia this week.

"My administration will continue to increase diplomatic and economic pressure until Iran is ready to return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, as I remain prepared to do," Biden wrote on Saturday. Iran on Tuesday blasted the Biden administration for what it said was an inconsistent approach on the nuclear issue.

"Mr. Joe Biden's emphasis on pursuing the policy of economic and diplomatic pressure against Iran is contradictory to US continued expression of desire to revive the 2015 agreement," foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said