Turkey hopes United States will rejoin Iran nuclear deal

Turkey hopes the United States will return to the nuclear deal with Iran under U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, said on Friday.

During a joint news conference with Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif in Istanbul, Cavusoglu said that Turkey would also like to see sanctions imposed on Iran lifted. Meanwhile, Zarif condemned Washington's decision to impose Turkey with sanctions last month using the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

However, new US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier that Washington would only return to the agreement when Tehran start complying with its terms again.

Former US President Donald Trump in 2018 initiated America's withdrawal from Iran's nuclear deal, in which Tehran decided to limit its uranium enrichment if the economic sanctions were revoked.

"It is the duty of the United States to return to this agreement and to fulfil its obligations. The moment the United States fulfils its commitments, we would be prepared to fulfil ours," Zarif said.

Turkey and Iran in December were caught in a spat over Turkey's support for Azerbaijan in its victorious war with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.