TEHRAN — International affairs expert Sabah Zanganeh has said Saudi Arabia is seeking to disrupt the United States’ return to the 2015 nuclear agreement under the incoming administration of Joe Biden.

“Riyadh knows that there will be no renegotiation [of the nuclear deal], and its goal is merely to disrupt the United States’ return to the deal,” Sabah Zanganeh said in an interview with IRNA published on Friday.

“These neighbors behave like someone who has just woken up and now wants to get on the train by running,” he added.

Iran signed the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with the U.S., Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and the European Union on July 14, 2015.

However, the JCPOA was abandoned by U.S. President Donald Trump on May 8, 2018. Trump replaced the pact with a “maximum pressure” policy against Tehran in order to pressure Iran into negotiating a new deal.

With the defeat of Trump in the November 3 presidential election, hopes were raised over a possible revival of the JCPOA under President-elect Joe Biden.

MH/PA