BERLIN, 21 December, 2020, (TON): German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday urged Iran not to waste the opportunity offered by the prospect of Joseph Biden’s United States administration returning to the nuclear non-proliferation deal.

Speaking after a video conference of officials from the countries in the JCPOA deal, Maas said that Iran should avoid taking any tactical steps that would make it hard for Biden to reverse President Donald Trump’s decision to quit the deal.

“To make possible a rapprochement with the U.S. under Biden, there should be no further tactical manoeuvres of the kind we’ve seen too many of in the recent past,” he told reporters. “This chance, this last window of opportunity, must not be wasted.”

Under the agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran dismantled much of its nuclear program and gave international inspectors extensive access to its facilities in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

President Donald J. Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement in May 2018, saying it failed to address Iran’s ballistic missile program and its role in regional wars.

The US reimposed sanctions and moved to wipe out Iran’s oil exports, prompting Iran to resume some of its nuclear activities. Following the US killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani in January 2020, Iran announced plans to halt most of its commitments to the deal. However, Joe Biden has pledged to return to the deal.