NEW YORK, June 30 (Reuters) – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on US President Joe Biden’s administration to lift or lift all sanctions against Iran, as agreed under ‘a 2015 deal aimed at preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.

In a report to the UN Security Council, Guterres also urged the United States to “extend the waivers for oil trade with the Islamic Republic of Iran and to fully renew the waivers for non-proliferation projects. nuclear “.

The 15-member council will discuss on Tuesday the Secretary-General’s semi-annual report on the implementation of a 2015 resolution that enshrines the nuclear deal between Iran, the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China.

Guterres’ call to Washington comes amid talks to revive the deal – known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – under which Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for lifting numerous foreign sanctions against him.

Former US President Donald Trump abandoned the pact in 2018 and reimposed tough sanctions, prompting Tehran to start violating some of the nuclear limits in 2019.

“I call on the United States to lift or lift its sanctions outlined in the plan,” said Guterres, who also called on Iran to return to full implementation of the agreement.

Iran has refined uranium to about 60% purity, well above the 3.67% deal limit and much closer to the 90% appropriate for atomic bomb cores , although he maintains that he is only pursuing civilian nuclear power and that he could quickly retrace his steps if Washington rolled back the sanctions and reverted to the 2015 deal.

Guterres said: “I continue to believe that a complete restoration of the plan remains the best way to ensure that the nuclear program of the Islamic Republic of Iran remains exclusively peaceful.

Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore

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