Biden and European leaders say they’re ‘convinced’ Iran deal can be quickly restored

In a joint statement that came following a discussion between Biden, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G20 in Rome, the leaders said they are “convinced that it is possible to quickly reach and implement an understanding on return to full compliance” of the Iran nuclear deal.

The meeting came one day after the US imposed new sanctions on Iran related to its drone program and less than a week after Tehran announced it would return to nuclear talks in Vienna with following a four-month hiatus.

The Iran nuclear deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was abandoned by the US under the Trump administration. And talks to resurrect the deal in Vienna were suspended in late June after six rounds between Iran, China, Germany, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and — indirectly — the United States.

According to the joint statement, the leaders “agreed that continued Iranian nuclear advances and obstacles to the IAEA’s work will jeopardize the possibility of a return to the JCPOA.” However, the statement added, “We are convinced that it is possible to quickly reach and implement an understanding on return to full compliance and to ensure for the long term that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes.”