US warning that time is running out for the Iran nuclear deal
The US envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, warned Friday that Tehran was approaching the point of no return to revive the nuclear deal, after it boosted its stockpile of enriched uranium before talks resume this month.
Mali said Iran risked it would be "impossible" to get any benefit from reviving the accord, which has been on hold since Donald Trump's United States withdrew from it in 2018.
And this week, as Iran prepares to hold talks with world powers in Vienna on November 29, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that Tehran has returned to increasing its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
"There will come a time if Iran continues with this pace of progress it has made, it will be impossible, even if we were to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, to restore the gains" made by the agreement, Mali said at the Manama Dialogue Forum held in Bahrain.
"Iran's progress is causing concern throughout the region... This is what makes time pass faster and makes us all say that time is running out to return to the nuclear deal," Mali said.
In a statement issued Wednesday after a US-Gulf meeting, the United States and its Gulf allies issued a joint warning to Iran, accusing it of "causing a nuclear crisis" and destabilizing the Middle East with its ballistic missiles and drones.
Mali pointed out that the United States shares "goals" with its adversaries Russia and China "because we want to avoid that crisis that will erupt if Iran continues on its current path."
"And I want to be clear, because there is no ambiguity about what they seem to be doing now, which is slowing the nuclear talks and accelerating progress on their nuclear program," he added.
The US envoy stated that he was not encouraged by the statements of the new Iranian government, President Ibrahim Raisi, which earlier Friday accused Washington of launching a "propaganda campaign" against the country.
"If they stick to their public statements, unfortunately we are not going in the right direction ... but let's wait and see what happens," he said, vowing that President Joe Biden would respect the deal if it was revived.
"Our intention in returning to the agreement is to stick to the agreement because we do not want to see a nuclear crisis," he added.
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