State Dept. Says Unresolved Complex Questions May Preclude Mutual Return to JCPOA

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States believes that a number of remaining unresolved complex issues may preclude the parties to the Iran nuclear deal from mutually returning to compliance with the accord, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday.

"As long as the non-proliferation benefits that a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA brings is better than what we have now, that will likely be an outcome that's in our interest. But again, we may not be able to get there, because the negotiation in this case, not only does it take two parties, but there are multiple parties in this and there are complex questions, some of which remain unresolved," Price said during a press briefing.

The previous nuclear deal was signed by Iran, the five permanent members of UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States), Germany and the European Union in 2015. Then US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and imposed new sanctions on Tehran, thus impeding trade with the country and prompting the islamic Republic to largely abandon its own obligations under the deal.

The eighth round of Vienna negotiations was launched in late December 2021 and resumed in early February after a short break. In late March, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said that parties to the Vienna talks were close to reaching a new agreement.

"We seek the lifting of sanctions, but with dignity and with a lasting agreement,” ther minister said later, adding that “Iran has stood and will stand by its red lines."