Washington has warned that it is ready for all scenarios regarding the negotiations to return to the nuclear agreement with Iran, while Tehran reiterated that it is committed to activating it.
US State Department deputy spokesman Vidant Patel said that Iran's latest response to US proposals to revive the nuclear deal had not reached a stage that would allow an agreement to be reached, and that the gaps still existed.
In turn, White House spokeswoman Karen Jean-Pierre reiterated Washington's readiness to return to the nuclear agreement with Iran, noting that some gaps have been filled in recent weeks in this regard.
The White House added, "We are ready for all scenarios, whether or not a return to the nuclear agreement is achieved."
reassuring guarantees
On the other hand, Iranian government spokesman Ali Bahadri Jahromi said that his country has not left the negotiating table to reactivate the previous nuclear agreement and has no intention of doing so.
Jahromi stressed his country's adherence to its position on the necessity of closing the outstanding issues with the International Atomic Energy Agency before reaching any agreement, stressing that "the guarantees in the negotiations must be reassuring."
In Moscow, TASS news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying that "there are unresolved aspects of the issue of restoring the Iranian nuclear deal."
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.
The Israeli position
In a new cautionary step, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said he agreed with US President Joe Biden that Israel has complete freedom of action to do whatever it deems appropriate in order to prevent Iran from turning into a nuclear threat, adding that Israel is ready for any threat and for every scenario, as he put it.
Lapid made this statement during a visit to an air base in southern Israel, and his office published a video clip of him speaking with an F-35 fighter jet behind him.
For his part, Lapid's office said in a statement that the head of Israeli foreign intelligence (Mossad) David Barnea is currently visiting the United States as part of the "diplomatic campaign against Iran."
During his visit, Parnia is scheduled to meet with officials from a number of US security services.