The US has sent its response to the European Union’s latest proposal to revive the multinational accord that limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of related sanctions, the latest sign that an agreement may be within reach.
“As you know, we received Iran’s comments on the EU’s proposed final text through the EU,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement to reporters on Wednesday. “Our review of those comments has now concluded. We have responded to the EU today.”
Price didn’t disclose details of the US response, but the announcement indicates further movement after what a top European Union official has called Iran’s “reasonable response” to the bloc’s latest proposal.
Earlier this week, Price said the US is encouraged that Iran “appears to have dropped some of its non-starter demands,” but that some issues remained to be resolved. Among Iran’s concessions was dropping a demand that a US terrorist designation of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be rescinded.
An EU official confirmed the bloc had received the US response and passed it on to Iranian officials. Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said the Islamic Republic would comment on Washington’s reply once its assessment of the latest US position is complete.
Diplomats want to strike an agreement that reinstates limits on Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program in exchange for lifting US sanctions on the Iranian economy, including oil exports. The original accord collapsed after then-President Donald Trump abandoned it in 2018.
US sends response to EU plan for reviving Iran nuclear accord
Image: Bloomberg
The US has sent its response to the European Union’s latest proposal to revive the multinational accord that limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of related sanctions, the latest sign that an agreement may be within reach.
“As you know, we received Iran’s comments on the EU’s proposed final text through the EU,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement to reporters on Wednesday. “Our review of those comments has now concluded. We have responded to the EU today.”
Price didn’t disclose details of the US response, but the announcement indicates further movement after what a top European Union official has called Iran’s “reasonable response” to the bloc’s latest proposal.
Earlier this week, Price said the US is encouraged that Iran “appears to have dropped some of its non-starter demands,” but that some issues remained to be resolved. Among Iran’s concessions was dropping a demand that a US terrorist designation of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be rescinded.
An EU official confirmed the bloc had received the US response and passed it on to Iranian officials. Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said the Islamic Republic would comment on Washington’s reply once its assessment of the latest US position is complete.
Diplomats want to strike an agreement that reinstates limits on Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program in exchange for lifting US sanctions on the Iranian economy, including oil exports. The original accord collapsed after then-President Donald Trump abandoned it in 2018.
Biden, Putin strike conciliatory tones as nuclear arms talks start at UN
Delivering a further boost to the multiparty negotiations, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s probe into uranium traces found in Iran, discovered after an Israeli operation helped identify possible covert activities, could also be nearing conclusion.
The IAEA investigation has emerged as a major point of contention and obstacle to progress in recent weeks.
“We are going to get there, I’m pretty confident,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said late Tuesday in an interview on PBS, adding his inspectors have agreed on a mechanism to resolve the three-year probe.
A move by President Joe Biden’s administration to return to the Iran accord would meet significant resistance from Republicans and some Democrats in Congress.
“Congress must review any agreement that is reached,” Representative Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a letter to Biden on Tuesday.
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