Iran's reform front, a weakened umbrella organization of reformist groups, is planning to write to US President Joe Biden "to return to the nuclear deal with Iran as soon as possible," the IRGC-affiliated Fars reported on April 5.

Led by former industry minister Behzad Nabavi, the umbrella organization is tasked with organizing and mobilizing the reformist parties for the upcoming presidential election in June. Reformists that once held the government in Iran (1997-2005) have lost populairty in recent years, as their leaders failed to deliver any political reforms and hardliner supporters of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei denied them the playing field.

Nabavi who was once an outspoken supporter of reforms has been marginalized by the regime after he was imprisoned along with many others in the aftermath of the disputed 2009 presidential election that gave the victory to ultraconservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a second term.

Currently, dispersed, and fragmented, the reformist parties have no hope of winning in the presidential election and are simply happy to appease Khamenei only to remain a marginal player in Iranian politics.

In their letter to Biden the Reform Front paid tribute to the US President's "campaign against totalitarianism" and his "attempt to reactivate democracy and return to international obligations including the JCPOA," the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Actions, as the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is called.

The front reminded Biden that the US was one of the signatories of the JCPOA and Biden himself and many of his colleagues in his administration had a part in shaping the JCPOA the agreement in the Obama administration.

They also claimed that they have always advocated a culture of dialogue to the Iranian government as part of their citizenship responsibility and have condemned the use of force all over the world. “Let us take a lesson from our experiences and do not repeat the mistakes of the past.”

The reformists stressed that the Iranian government should not be expected to pay the cost of an "unconventional measure" taken by the former US administration.

Earlier, reformist commentator Ali Khorram, a former Iranian diplomat, had criticized Joe Biden for failing to return to the JCPOA and for not being "determined enough", Fars reminded. "You have either broken your promises about returning to the nuclear deal or you lack determination," Khorram had said.

The Iranian reformists have launched the move to support the administration of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at a time when they are themselves weak.

During the parliamentary elections in February 2020, the hardline Guardian Council disqualified nearly all of the reformist candidates and only a few low-key figures entered the Majles who quickly shifted their loyalty to the relatively moderate conservative factions at the Majles.

Meanwhile, former reformist figure Mohammad Reza Aref who led the Reform Front quit the front after he was harshly criticized by fellow front members for letting down the front with his silence and inaction during four years of his leadership of the reformist faction at the Majles.

Recently, it was revealed the former Reformist President Mohammad Khatami wrote a letter to Khamenei demanding an opportunity for reformist to run in the upcoming election, but not only Khamenei ignored the letter, his loyal supporters including the editor of Kayhan newspaper Hossein Shariatmadari called on Khatami to apologize and repent for what he has done as a leading reformist so far.