The Israeli newspaper Maariv quoted Tom Nides, the US ambassador to Tel Aviv, as saying that the United States will not prevent Israel from defending itself against Iran, stressing that the administration of President Joe Biden will not tie Israel's hands in this regard.

This comes as Iran renewed today its demand to close the investigations of the International Atomic Energy Agency of the United Nations into its nuclear activities within the guarantees of reviving the nuclear agreement, and also denied Washington's accusation that its recent response to the proposals was "unconstructive."

In his statements to the Israeli newspaper, Nides indicated that the US administration listens to the Israeli position, just as it did when it refused to remove the Iranian Revolutionary Guard from the list of terrorism.

He added that President Biden reiterated his administration's commitment that Iran will not obtain a nuclear weapon, and that it is interested in a diplomatic solution based on the terms provided in the draft agreement submitted by the European Union.

He also stressed that the US administration will not allow the signing of an agreement that includes closing the investigation files opened by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which are related to the discovery of traces of enriched uranium in undeclared nuclear sites.


less optimism

On the other hand, Josep Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, said today, Monday, that he has become less optimistic about a quick agreement to revive the nuclear deal than he was a short time ago.

He added - in statements to reporters in Brussels - "I regret to say that I am less confident today than I was 28 hours ago ... about the prospects of concluding the agreement now."

Earlier today, Tehran renewed its demand to close the International Atomic Energy Agency's investigations into its nuclear activities within the guarantees of reviving the nuclear agreement, refusing to describe its response to the proposals presented to it as "unconstructive."

"The termination of the agency's investigations is part of the guarantees we seek in order to reach a sustainable nuclear agreement," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a televised press conference.

He added that his country was awaiting the American response to its proposals, and that it was dealing with responsibility to create the conditions for a settlement of the nuclear file.

"Our response was constructive, and an agreement can be reached in a short time if the political will of the opposing party is available," he added.

He also considered that his country could play a role in securing energy for Europe if an agreement was reached on the nuclear file.


Israeli pressure

The American Wall Street Journal quoted informed sources that the Biden administration is keeping Israel closely informed about the ongoing negotiations on the nuclear agreement with Iran.

The newspaper said that Israeli officials are trying to influence the US administration in order to push it to take tougher positions and not to make concessions to Iran at a time when the talks are entering a critical stage.

It is noteworthy that Iran sent last week its last response to the European Union's proposal with the aim of reviving the nuclear agreement, but Washington said that the Iranian response was "not constructive", and refused to link the return to the nuclear agreement with the IAEA investigations.

After abandoning the demand to remove the Revolutionary Guards from the US terrorism list, Iran is insisting on obtaining guarantees that include the US pledge not to withdraw from the nuclear agreement in the future. However, US officials said that the administration of President Joe Biden cannot restrict the next administration with such a pledge.