U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the United States is still far from taking steps to ease sanctions on Iran, noting that Washington has been very clear about Iran's return to compliance with its obligations under the nuclear agreement.
Blinken added that Iran is moving in the wrong direction and continues to evade the restrictions imposed by the agreement, stating, "If Iran returns to its commitments, Washington will do the same, and that will include easing some sanctions. The path of diplomacy is open, and the ball is in Iran's court to decide whether to participate in negotiations to return to the agreement with the 5+1 group."
In another matter, the U.S. Secretary of State pledged that Washington would not use force to overthrow regimes, considering that previous interventions have tarnished the reputation of American democracy. Blinken noted that "the Biden administration will seek to change the paths previously followed to change regimes in other countries from costly military interventions to conducting diplomatic dialogues." He observed that "previous American interventions have distorted the image of democracy and eroded the trust of the American people," emphasizing that "we will do things differently... we will not promote democracy through costly military interventions or attempts to overthrow authoritarian regimes by force. We have tried these tactics in the past, and despite good intentions, they have not succeeded." He added, "The Biden administration's efforts will seek to form a new foreign policy that contrasts with Donald Trump's isolationism, 'America First,' and will aim to avoid criticisms that suggest the United States intervenes in every country around the world from all across Asia, Africa, and Latin America."
