With Tehran’s response to the proposal put forward by the European Union being a clear step backward, the prospects for a new nuclear deal between the US and Iran are unlikely any time soon, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
The EU introduced its proposal in an effort to break the deadlock that emerged after months-long indirect talks between Washington and Tehran.
According to Blinken, Iran makes a potential deal less likely with its continuing attempts to introduce extraneous issues to the negotiations and by being either unwilling or unable to do what is necessary to reach an agreement.
In light of Iran’s failure to conclude the agreement on the table, Germany, France, and the UK also raised serious doubts about Tehran’s sincerity in restoring the 2015 accord that former president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran.
All three governments addressed the latest demands from Iran in a joint statement issued on Saturday, noting that they’ll consult with its international partners on how best to deal with Tehran’s continued nuclear escalation.
Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) 35-member board of governors convened on Monday in Vienna to discuss the stand-off in the talks where the agency’s inquiry has taken a center stage.
After IAEA’s inquiry into Iran’s past nuclear activities, yhey heard a gloomy assessment from director general Rafael Grossi who stressed that the information gap is bigger but expects Iran to co-operate with his inquiry.
Tehran previously demanded that IAEA halts its investigation into suggestions of nuclear activities at undeclared sites in Iran, which is now enriching uranium to slightly below the levels needed to make weapons.
The US and other world powers insist it is up to the IAEA to declare an end to the investigation and offered sanctions relief if Iran curtails nuclear-fuel production.
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