Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarked that “we’ve demonstrated our very seriousness of purpose in terms of wanting to get back into the so-called JCPOA. Compliance for compliance. And what we don’t yet know is whether Iran is prepared to make the same decision and to move forward”. He further stressed that “Iran has itself lifted many of the constraints imposed on it by the agreement because we pulled out. And it is now getting closer and closer again to that point where its breakout time is going to be down to a few months and eventually even less”. Blinken added: “There’s nothing naive about this. On the contrary, it’s a very clear-eyed way of dealing with a problem that was dealt with effectively by the JCPOA”. The following day, Blinken asserted that apart from the JCPOA, “we are resolutely focused on Americans who are being arbitrarily detained or being held hostage in Iran or anywhere else”.