Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh gave his last press conference on the job and discussed the nuclear talks which have been at a stalemate between Iran and the US.

“The double standard policies of Washington have been clear to everyone for some time," Khatibzadeh said. He said that on one hand, the US says they want to correct the mistakes of the Trump administration,  but the Biden administration is continuing Trump’s failed policies. Khatibzadeh used an expression about whether one should trust their own eyes or not.

Khatibzadeh said that the US has shown “one thousand reasons and adds one one thousand reasons every day” as to why Iran should be very careful. He said that the US has “proven its unreliability to the international community.” Khatibzadaeh continued that Iran is still actively moving in the direction of negotiations and diplomacy while the US continues to move in the same direction as Trump’s policies.    

The US under President Trump exited the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018. It had been signed under his predecessor Barack Obama in 2015. The deal reduced Iran’s nuclear program and increased international inspections in exchange in sanctions relief. When Trump left the deal, he reapplied US sanctions and the so-called “maximum pressure” campaign. In response, Iran incrementally increased its nuclear program, enriching uranium at higher levels and using more advanced centrifuges than the JCPOA permitted. Iran has reduced its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency. As a result of a US-led IAEA resolution calling on Iran to increase its cooperation with the agency, Iran retaliated by shutting of dozens of cameras which were installed by the agency at various nuclear facilities.