Washington is lobbying to accelerate the pace of negotiations to bring the 2015 international agreement on Iran's nuclear energy program back into full force, a senior State Department official said Monday.
"From a timing perspective, we are in the home stretch because, as we have been saying for some time, this (negotiation) cannot be perpetuated because of Iran's progress in the nuclear field," the US State Department official said, speaking to reporters in Washington.
Germany, France and Britain - the so-called E3 group - are mediating, along with Russia and China, in close negotiations between Iran and the US to salvage the international agreement, formally the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The talks in Vienna for months have been aimed at reaching an understanding so that Tehran can return to full compliance and Washington can rejoin it and lift the sanctions that had been reimposed.
Echoing comments already made by other US and European officials, the US State Department official noted that the issue is not a "threat" or an "artificial deadline", but stressed that "we only have a few weeks to reach an agreement".
Otherwise, it will not be possible to restore the CSTO in full force and thus its non-proliferation benefits, he asserted.
For the same official, direct negotiation between US and Iranian officials would be the best route. He assured that Washington is ready to move forward if Tehran so wishes, adding, however, that there are currently no indications that there will be unmediated talks.
Source: Proto Thema
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