Biden has said the United States wants to rejoin the pact and the State Department said Thursday the US would accept an invitation from the European Union to attend a meeting of the participants in the original agreement - Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran. This includes allowing nuclear inspections in exchange for a gradual easing of global sanctions.

The sanctions relief led to Iran's receipt of billions of dollars in funds that had been frozen and opened its markets back up to many foreign investors.

"The irony is that the Trump administration so fundamentally failed to convince the rest of the Security Council of its case, there isn't actually that much damage to undo", said Richard Gowan, a United Nations expert at the International Crisis Group. It went into effect in January 2016.

Iran has said it will stop part of International Atomic Energy Agency inspections of its nuclear facilities next week if the West doesn't implement its own commitments under the 2015 deal.

The statement said Blinken reiterated that if "Iran comes back into strict compliance with its commitments" under the nuclear deal "the United States will do the same and is prepared to engage in discussions with Iran toward that end".

Such a meeting has not yet been organized, but it's expected to be announced following a meeting between Blinken and his French, German and British counterparts. The six countries are the original signatories to the 2015 agreement with Iran.

According to a summary of the conversation provided by Michel's office, he expressed concern over Iran's "departure" from its commitments under the nuclear deal but also stressed "the European Union will continue to deploy efforts to facilitate the full implementation of the JCPOA and the return of the United States of America to the agreement" - an acknowledgment that it was Trump who unilaterally abandoned the accord in 2018 and reimposed economic sanctions on Iran. In 2018, he upheld a promise to withdraw the United States from the agreement and reimpose sanctions on Iran.

The Trump administration's decision to invoke a provision in the 2015 council resolution allowing the "snapback" of sanctions because Iran was in "significant non-performance" with its obligations under the accord was ignored by the rest of the Security Council and the world.

Ned Price, the U.S. State Department spokesman, issued a statement saying Washington was willing to rejoin talks.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed in Vienna in 2015, was based on Iran accepting safeguards created to prevent it developing an atomic bomb, in exchange for a gradual easing of worldwide sanctions.

US officials have said that while they are open to discussing the JCPOA with foreign partners, they are aware that Iran is in breach of the deal. "This time (we want) only action from the other side, and we will also act", he said, strengthening demands that the USA must lift all sanctions if it wants Iran to live up to its prior commitments. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet that Washington would first have to remove sanctions before Tehran would consider changing its current enrichment processes.

Trump and other critics rejected the agreement because it did not cover other activities by Iran, such as its support of militant groups in the Middle East and its development of ballistic missiles.

The U.S. also notified the United Nations that it was retracting a host of sanctions against Iran that Trump had activated.

On 7 February, in his first interview since taking office last month, Biden ruled out the prospect of lifting sanctions on Iran until it stopped enriching uranium.

Iran has said the developments are for civilian use, but Western powers have argued that there is no credible use of 20% enriched uranium for civilians.