Joe Biden
Joe BidenReuters

The Biden administration said on Thursday it is ready to join talks with Iran and world powers to discuss a return to the 2015 nuclear deal, The Associated Press reported.

The State Department said the US would accept an invitation from the European Union to attend a meeting of the participants in the original agreement.

“The United States would accept an invitation from the European Union High Representative to attend a meeting of the P5+1 and Iran to discuss a diplomatic way forward on Iran’s nuclear program,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price in a statement quoted by AP.

A source with knowledge of the details told the Reuters news agency that the US updated Israel before announcing that it would agree to talks with Iran.

Price’s statement came hours after Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his counterparts from France, Germany and the UK (known as the E3) that the US is prepared to engage in discussions with Iran in an attempt to reach an agreement on returning to full compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.

The US has not participated in a meeting of the participants of the 2015 Iran deal since former President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran. The Islamic Republic, in turn, has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal.

Biden has expressed a desire to return to the 2015 agreement but has stressed he would do so only if Iran returned to compliance with it.

Iran has repeatedly made clear that it will not renegotiate the original agreement.