During a Dec. 16 televised speech attended by various government officials, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed a number of problems the country is facing, including the nuclear deal and sanctions. 

This was Khamenei’s first public appearance since Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump. President-elect Biden has said he would return to the nuclear deal that was signed by the United States in 2015, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), under certain conditions. 

The deal went into effect in 2016, but Trump exited it in 2018 and reapplied sanctions on Iran, which has cost considerable damage to its economy. As a result, Iran reduced its commitments under the JCPOA in a five-step process as a means to pressure Europe to remain in the deal and bypass US sanctions. 

Iran said these steps could be easily reversed with a return to the deal; however, many Iranian lawmakers grew increasingly frustrated with having to adhere to nuclear restrictions while not reaping the economic benefits of sanctions being lifted and being able to sell their oil easily on the market. In early December the new conservative parliament passed legislation that would require Iran to dramatically increase its nuclear capabilities; its supporters said this would strengthen Iran’s hand ahead of a US reentry into the JCPOA. However, critics of the legislation argued that any further increase in the nuclear program would delay a full reentry and President Hassan Rouhani said he would interpret the legislation as he wished.