(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
The US continues to review the European Union's latest proposed
deal to curb Iran's nuclear program, saying it's encouraged that
some key demands have been dropped, Trend reports citing Al
Arabiya .
The Biden administration will respond at an appropriate time, a
US official said Monday, adding that delays by Iran have stretched
on for months, and any suggestion the US is now delaying the
process is false.
The official said the US sees it as a positive sign that Iran
appears to have dropped some of its demands, such as lifting the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' designation by the US as a
foreign terrorist organization.
The EU proposal is the latest in the back-and forth over talks
for a new deal, after the previous pact collapsed in the aftermath
of former President Donald Trump's decision in 2018 to pull the US
out.
Stakeholders have been watching closely for a US response to the
EU since Iran delivered its comments a week ago. World powers have
spent almost 18 months trying a broker an agreement that would
reinstate strict limits on Iran's atomic activity in exchange for
the easing of US sanctions on the Islamic Republic's economy,
including its oil exports.
The US is still studying the revised text, according to the
official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the review
continues. A deal is closer than it was two weeks ago, but the
outcome remains uncertain as some gaps remain and some outstanding
issues must still be resolved, the US official said.
NSC Spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement that the US
is not considering new offers to sweeten the pot for Iran.
“Reports that we have accepted or are considering new
concessions to Iran as part of reentering the 2015 nuclear deal are
categorically false,” Watson said in a statement.
Iran sent a“reasonable response to the EU's latest proposal for
saving the 2015 nuclear accord, and diplomats might meet this week
in Vienna to discuss the next steps,” the bloc's foreign-policy
chief, Josep Borrell, said Monday. The bloc is awaiting the US
response.
“I hope that this response allows us to end the negotiations,”
Borrell said of the anticipated comments from Washington, without
elaborating on the remaining gaps that had to be bridged.“That's
my hope, but I cannot assure you that this will happen.”
President Joe Biden spoke with counterparts in France, Germany
and the UK on Sunday about the talks. All four countries were
signatories to the original deal, known as the JCPOA. The leaders
discussed“the need to strengthen support for partners in the
Middle East region,” according to a US summary of the call.
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