The State Department official said the withdrawal of the Trump administration from the JCPOA had left the Biden administration with a crisis. Finding a way forward could lead to disagreements, Reuters reported.
“Working our way out of this crisis requires many difficult, closely balanced decisions, on which there can be reasonable disagreement ... The senior-most levels of our Government have given careful consideration to these choices, weighed multiple views, and settled on a policy,” the official said.
The US State Department on Monday repeated that it remains open to meeting with Iranian officials directly to discuss the nuclear deal and other issues after Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran would consider this but had made no decisions.
“We are prepared to meet directly. We have consistently held the position that it would be much more productive to engage with Iran directly on both JCPOA negotiations and on other issues,” Ned Price told reporters.
This comes as Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Monday, "If we reach a stage in the negotiation process where a good agreement is needed to have a dialogue with the United States, we will not ignore it."
"The United States sends messages calling for direct talks with us. Our talks with the United States are taking place through Mora and one or two JCPOA members in Vienna," the top diplomat added.
"So far, the behavior of the three European countries has been like that when it comes to sanctions, they refer them to the United States. When it comes to nuclear issues, they say that is a matter that worries them," he added on the approach of the E3 during the ongoing talks in Vienna.
Experts believe that the Americans, by proposing a direct dialogue, seek to throw the ball to Iran's court and to use this tactic to shirk their responsibilities to return to the JCPOA.
RHM/PR