DUBAI: Iran has delivered a “constructive” response to US suggestions aimed at restoring Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry, provoking a less favorable response from the US.
“The text (provided by Iran) has a positive attitude aimed at finishing the negotiations,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nasser Kanaani was quoted as saying on Friday by state radio IRIB.
However, the US State Department had a different opinion.
“We can confirm that we got Iran’s response via the EU,” said a spokeswoman. “We’re looking into it and will reply through the EU, but it’s not productive.”
“Some gaps have narrowed in recent weeks, but others remain,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.
According to the IRIB report, Iran’s response was submitted to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who has been coordinating the talks. It provided no further information.
After 16 months of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington, Borrell announced on August 8 that the EU had made a final offer to break the impasse and resurrect the accord.
Iran needs more guarantees from Washington to resurrect a 2015 nuclear deal, its foreign minister said on Wednesday, adding that the UN nuclear watchdog should end its “politically motivated investigations” into Tehran’s nuclear program.
Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for respite from US, EU, and UN sanctions under the 2015 agreement.
The agreement was then reneged on by US President Donald Trump in 2018, claiming that it was overly favorable to Tehran. He reimposed US sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to begin previously prohibited nuclear activity and reigniting US, European, and Israeli worries that Iran is pursuing an atomic bomb.
Source: Reuters
