A U.S. diplomatic spokesperson reiterated that “we can’t accept a situation in which Iran is dragging its feet at the negotiating table but accelerating the pace of its nuclear program”, adding: “as we continue to watch what Iran does and what Iran says publicly, privately in the context of these indirect negotiations in Vienna, we’ll make a judgment based on that as to whether the JCPOA remains in our interest”. “And all along”, he continued, “we are not wasting any time in thinking about those alternatives, and we’re doing more than thinking about alternatives”. The following day, the U.S. Special Envoy for Iran assessed that “we have some weeks left but not much more than that” to revive the JCPOA, adding: “If they try to build more leverage [by expanding their nuclear program], number one, they will not get a better deal because what we say we’re prepared to do is what was negotiated five years ago, [and] secondly their strategy is going to backfire”.