The United States and European Union said Tuesday that more work was needed to revive a 2015 agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, although Tehran reported progress after the latest diplomacy.
The talks aimed at returning the United States under President Joe Biden to the 2015 deal took their second break, with US envoy Rob Malley set to return to Washington for the rest of the week.
EU diplomat Enrique Mora hailed “progress made over the last two weeks” but said “ongoing challenges” remained to put the accord — which curbs Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief — back on track.
But for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the “negotiations have achieved 60-70 percent progress.”
“If the Americans act honestly, we will reach a conclusion in little time,” Rouhani said, as quoted by state news agency IRNA.
State Department spokesman Ned Price, asked about Rouhani’s optimism, was more cautious.
“Yes, there has been some progress but there remains a long road ahead,” Price told reporters in Washington.
“I think it’s fair to say that we have more road ahead of us than we do in the rearview mirror.”
The deal was put on life support in 2018 when then US president Donald Trump bolted from the accord and slapped sweeping sanctions on Iran, which in turn started ramping up its nuclear activities.
Biden supports the agreement — with which Iran was in compliance before Trump’s sanctions — but has called on Tehran to roll back its measures before the United States ends sanctions.
Read the article by in the International Business Times.