Blinken: Unclear Whether Iran Will Comply with Nuclear Commitments
Voice of America
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday it is not clear whether Iran will comply with restrictions on its nuclear development program in order to have U.S. economic sanctions removed.
"Iran, I think, knows what it needs to do to come back into compliance on the nuclear side, and what we haven't yet seen is whether Iran is ready and willing to make a decision to do what it has to do,” Blinken told ABC’s “This Week” show. “That's the test and we don't yet have an answer.” Iran has been in indirect talks with the United States through diplomats from other countries in reshaping the 2015 international nuclear deal to restrain Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Iran has said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Then-U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the pact in 2018, imposing new sanctions on Tehran’s oil, banking and shipping sectors. But U.S. President Joe Biden is looking to rejoin the pact that includes Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.Israeli Ofer Kalderon, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, waves before being handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas fighters in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 1, 2025. Israeli Yarden Bibas, 34, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 1, 2025.
A rescued pug plays in the home of Cheryl Gaw in Johannesburg, South Africa, Jan. 14, 2025. Cheryl Gaw plays with some of the 2,500 pugs she has rescued in South Africa at her home in Johannesburg, South Africa, Jan. 14, 2025. Pugs pause for a photograph at the home of Cheryl Gaw in Johannesburg, South Africa, Jan. 14, 2025.
The homepage of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine's website on Jan. 31, 2025. Sergiy Tomilenko, president of the organization, says many Ukrainian media outlets face the threat of closure after the United States froze all foreign aid for 90 days. The homepage of Frontier Myanmar's website, Jan. 31, 2025. Ben Dunant, editor-in-chief of the magazine, says, “It is difficult — or even impossible — for many [media outlets] to make commercial revenue” in war-torn Myanmar.