US says Iran’s response to EU proposal a ‘step backward’

“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.

Earlier this month, Iran sent its latest answer, which a US State Department spokesperson called “not constructive.”

Iran announced it has submitted a “constructive” response to US comments on an EU-led draft of a possible deal on the restoration of the 2015 nuclear agreement to the European Union’s coordinator Josep Borrell.

“After receiving the US response, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s team of experts precisely reviewed it, and Iran’s responses had been drafted and submitted to the coordinator following evaluations at different levels,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said.

He added Tehran’s text was “constructive” and served to help conclude the negotiations on lifting sanctions and reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action(JCPOA), the official name of nuclear deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has noted that Tehran wanted stronger guarantees Washington will not abandon the deal again.

He also reaffirmed Tehran’s position that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s probe into Iran’s nuclear deal based on Israeli claims, must be dropped.