Spox: US believes differences in nuclear talks can be overcome

“Anyone involved in the talks knows precisely who has made constructive proposals, who has introduced demands that are unrelated to the JCPOA, and how we reached this current moment,” Price said on Monday.

“We still believe there is an opportunity to overcome our remaining differences,” the official added.

Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman criticized the United States for a halt in the Vienna negotiations on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, saying American officials need to make a necessary political decision as soon as possible if they want to reach an agreement.

“All of us should not forget that what we are facing today is not an administration that wants to perform its duties, but rather, one that seeks to exploit legal means in order not to honor its obligations,” Saeed Khatibzadeh stated at a weekly press conference in the Iranian capital city of Tehran on Monday.

Khatibzadeh added the Vienna talks have come to a grinding halt because of such an American approach.

“The United States is trying to hold the remaining issues hostage to its internal affairs. We will not wait forever … The United States must make a political decision,” he said.

“The US is responsible for the current pause in the talks and its [possible] protraction in the coming days. The solution is in the White House too. [The US] must respond logically to Iran’s rational demands, which have been approved by the P4+1 group of countries, so that we can go back to Vienna,” the Iranian diplomat added.

Khatibzadeh noted an agreement is “very much within reach” if the US becomes fully aware that Iran will neither abandon its red lines nor back down from its demands.

In recent months, Tehran has cited Washington’s indecisiveness as the reason behind the protraction of the talks, as a number of key issues remain unresolved, ranging from the removal of all post-JCPOA sanctions to the provision of guarantees by the American side that it will not leave the deal again.

The other parties to the talks – Russia, China, France, the UK, and Germany – have also noted that the negotiators are close to finalizing an agreement.