Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in an interview published Saturday, urged Washington to act fast to return to the 2015 nuclear agreement if U.

S sanctions were not eased by February 21st.

Zarif points out that legislation passed by parliament would force the Iranian government to harden its nuclear stance, adding that elections in June could further jeopardize the deal, saying quote time is running out for Americans both because of the parliament bill in the election atmosphere that will follow the Iranian New Year, President Joe Biden's administration is exploring ways to restore the nuclear deal that Iran signed with world powers back in 2015.

The deal was abandoned in 2018 by former President Donald Trump, who restored sanctions.

As a result, Iran retaliated by breaching the terms of the accord in a step by step response.

Last month, it resumed enriching uranium to 20% a level it achieved before the accord.

Biden has said that if Tehran returned to strict compliance with the pact, Washington would follow suit and use that as a springboard to a broader agreement that might restrict Iran's missile development in regional activities.

Tehran has said Washington must ease sanctions before it resumes nuclear compliance and ruled out negotiations on wider security issues such as Iran's missile program.