U.S. official on Iran nuclear talks: “We are the closest we have ever been to a deal but also the closest we have ever been to a breakdown of the talks.'
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow today. Photo: Pavel Bednyakov\TASS via Getty
The U.S. official said there had been some progress recently in the nuclear talks but that it had been “painfully slow and painfully small," with the core issues still unresolved. A European diplomat briefed on the talks said gaps still remain on the steps the Iranians need to take to limit their nuclear program, on the scope of sanctions relief to be provided to Iran, and on the guarantees Iran is demanding that no future U.S. administration will pull out and reimpose sanctions.“We are the closest we have ever been to a deal but also the closest we have ever been to a breakdown of the talks," the U.S. official said.
The U.S. and the other parties to the deal have made clear to Iran that if it needs more time for diplomacy it will have to slow the nuclear program to keep time on the clock, the official said.