Speaking to reporters on Friday, Kirby asserted that diplomacy toward reviving US participation in the agreement is “not on the agenda” at all.
“There has been no progress on the JCPOA,” Kirby stated, “and we are not looking to make progress on the JCPOA anytime in the near future.”
Kirby’s comments came a month after video emerged of President Joe Biden declaring that the deal “is dead, but we’re not going to announce it”.
Though diplomacy has been sidelined, Kirby added that Biden “remains absolutely serious about the national security needs that we have for Iran not to be able to achieve a nuclear weapons capability.”
Iranian officials have always denied seeking such nuclear capabilities.
Iranian officials have time and again noted that Tehran is ready for a deal aimed at reviving the JCPOA and removing sanctions, stressing that the US, which withdrew from the accord in 2018 and reinstated sanctions, should abandon its excessive demands.
Iran has also announced that it has done its part of the deal and the ball is now in the US court to make a political decision.
The JCPOA ran into trouble after the US withdrawal. The revival negotiations began in April 2021.
