The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, says most countries that are part of discussions with Iran on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal say they agree with the bloc's latest proposal as all sides wait for the United States to respond after Tehran gave its opinion on the draft.
"Most of them agree, but I still don't have the answer from the United States, who I understand have to discuss it, and we expect during this week to receive an answer," Borrell said during an interview with Spain's national broadcaster TVE on August 23.
After the EU sent the proposed text to both Tehran and Washington in late July, Iran responded with several comments last week.
Washington says it is working as quickly as it can to put together an appropriate response to Tehran's comments on the draft text.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on August 22 that Washington said it was encouraged by Iran appearing to drop some of its demands, such as the lifting of the terrorism designation for Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), but added there were still outstanding issues that must be resolved.
Borrell said in the TVE interview that Iran has asked for a few adjustments to the EU proposal, which has not been made public. A day earlier, he commented that the answers Tehran gave to the draft were "reasonable" and that a new round of talks could be held as early as this week.
Iran reached the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 with the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Russia, and China. The deal saw Iran agree to limit its enrichment of uranium under the watch of UN inspectors in exchange for the lifting of most economic sanctions.
In 2018, Washington unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear pact under then-President Donald Trump, reintroducing crippling sanctions. Iran reacted by gradually backtracking on its obligations under the deal, such as uranium enrichment.
Negotiators from Iran, Russia, and the EU -- as well as the United States, indirectly -- resumed talks over Tehran’s nuclear deal on August 4 in Vienna after a months-long standstill in negotiations.
Iran has sought to obtain guarantees that no future U.S. president would renege on the JCPOA if it were revived.
However, President Joe Biden cannot provide such ironclad assurances because the deal is a political understanding rather than a legally binding treaty.