U.S. anti-Iran approach runs against stated goal to revive nuke deal: Iranian spokesman

TEHRAN, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The recent remarks by U.S. President Joe Biden about maintaining economic and diplomatic pressures against Iran ran contrary to U.S. stated goal to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

In an opinion piece published on Saturday by Washington Post, Biden said his administration "will continue to increase diplomatic and economic pressure until Iran is ready to return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal."

By unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the U.S. former government "impaired the strategy of multilateral diplomacy to resolve disputes," said Nasser Kanaani, spokesman of the foreign ministry.

The current U.S. government, despite its claims to return to the agreement, follows its predecessor by continuing anti-Iran sanctions and economic pressure in practice, he added.

The Middle East will be safer and more stable if the United States ends its divisive policies, stops its flow of weapons to the region, respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of regional countries, abandons unconditional support for Israel and gives up its Iranophobia policy, Kanaani noted, denouncing U.S. regional policy.

"Unless these wrong and crisis-causing policies are corrected, the United States will remain the main responsible for instability in the West Asian region," Kanaani said.

The spokesman urged the U.S. officials "to understand the new realities" of the world, avoid imposing their values and unilateralism on others and allow regional countries to act on the basis of their values, interests and realities and within the framework of regional cooperation to ensure their security and collective interests.

Biden is scheduled to begin his four-day Middle East tour on Wednesday, partly aiming to help foster closer ties between Israel and some regional Arab states.