A senior US official involved in nuclear talks with Iran told Axios on Wednesday that Iran will have to either accelerate its pace at the negotiating table or slow down the pace of its nuclear program to buy more time for diplomacy.
According to the report by Axios’ Barak Ravid, Biden administration officials have set the end of January or beginning of February as an unofficial deadline for the talks, in large part because they believe Iran's nuclear advances will soon render the 2015 deal ineffective.
The US 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.
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 official added.
“We are prepared and willing to reach a deal soon. But we are also prepared and bracing for the possibility of a breakdown which would spell the JCPOA's likely demise," the US official said.
The talks in Vienna will continue for at least another few weeks, but the US official said they can't go on as they are now much longer.
The US 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.
At the moment, all efforts are concentrated on returning to the 2015 nuclear deal and not on getting some kind of an interim agreement, the US official said. Iran also says it doesn’t want an interim deal.
Iran has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal it signed with world powers in response to former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May of 2018.
However, it has held indirect talks with the US on reviving the deal. Negotiations to restore the deal resumed in late November after they were suspended in June.
The Islamic Republic has repeatedly demanded that the US lift sanctions imposed on Iran and also reassure Iran it will not abandon the deal again as a precondition for its returning to compliance with the deal.
US officials have said that while they prefer the diplomatic route to reach an agreement with Iran, there are other options on the table should that fail.
Earlier this week, Iran said that it is time for the US to take political decisions to resolve key remaining issues, including on lifting sanctions.