Secretary of State Antony Blinken is warning that it is "unlikely" that the U.S. and Iran would agree on a new nuclear deal anytime soon.
Blinken made his remarks during a press conference on Monday.
"What we've seen over the last week or so in Iran's response to the proposal put forward by the European Union is clearly a step backward and makes prospects for an agreement in the near-term, I would say, unlikely," Blinken told reporters.
"Iran seems either unwilling or unable to do what's necessary to reach an agreement, and they continue to try to introduce extraneous issues to the negotiations that make an agreement less likely."
CNN noted Blinken said he was unable to offer a time frame for when it would be possible to reenter a nuclear deal with Iran.
"Certainly what we've seen in the last week is a step backward away from the likelihood of any kind of near-term agreement," he said.
The Times of Israel noted that earlier on Monday, a State Department spokesperson denied claims made by a senior Israeli official that the U.S. was abandoning talks with Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Monday called for the U.S. and Europe to stop pursuing the "failed negotiations with Iran."
And the Times added that a senior official, who was traveling with the prime minister, said in a briefing with reporters that the "Americans decided to toughen up after the dialog with the Israelis."
"We gave information to the Europeans that proved that the Iranians are lying while talks are still happening."
Former President Donald Trump in 2018 pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a nuclear deal meant to curb Iran's nuclear weapon ambitions that had been agreed upon under former President Barack Obama in 2015.
But President Joe Biden has been focused on undoing the pact withdrawal.
According to Bloomberg, Iran has been demanding that an International Atomic Energy Agency probe into suggestions of nuclear activities by Iran be terminated. France, Germany, and the U.K. issued a joint statement on Saturday regarding the latest Iranian demands.
"In light of Iran's failure to conclude the agreement on the table, we will consult with our international partners on how best to deal with Iran's continued nuclear escalation," the European governments said.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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