The American Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, stated today (Wednesday) that “the Iranians killed the opportunity to return to the nuclear agreement quickly many months ago”. In a conversation with his British counterpart, James Calverley, that “there was an opportunity to return to the agreement, it was even approved by all the parties involved – the US, Russia and even China.”
Blinken added that “Today the 2015 nuclear agreement is no longer on the agenda as a practical matter. It’s not on Fox right now, we are focused on what is happening inside Iran now.”
Last week, the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, spoke to several journalists during US President Biden’s trip to Mexico, and made it clear that the nuclear agreement with Iran is not on the US priorities at the moment, and that he still believes that the best way to prevent Obtaining nuclear weapons from Iran is the diplomatic way. He added that the issue will be discussed during the talks with the Israeli officials. Sullivan did not specify the exact date of the visit he will make to Israel.
Earlier, Russia’s envoy to the negotiations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, stated that there is no expectation of any change in the talks between the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran, and therefore explained that “there is no reason to return to Vienna and renew the negotiations on the revival of the nuclear agreement.” Ulyanov added that “the consultations between the IAEA and the Islamic Republic were supposed to take place last November, but after a document submitted by the United States, Great Britain, Germany and France at the meeting of the Agency’s Board of Governors, they concluded that “they arrived at an inappropriate time and that the results were not will be useful”.
Also, the Russian envoy for negotiations in Vienna emphasized that “Iran wants to end its existing problems with the IAEA, before returning to talks on reviving the nuclear agreement.” This, after the Iranian “Tasnim” news agency reported that the head of the Iranian Nuclear Energy Agency, Mohammad Islami, said that “Tehran’s enrichment capacity has been doubled as part of the strategic operation aimed at developing nuclear weapons.”