Washington
21 October 2022

Secretary of State Antony Blinken maintained that “there’s no imminent [nuclear] agreement because the Iranians continue to inject extraneous issues into the discussions about the JCPOA. And as long as they continue to do that, there is no possibility, no prospect for an agreement. We continue to believe that a diplomatic resolution to the challenge posed by Iran’s nuclear program remains the best way forward, and we continue to be determined that Iran never acquire a nuclear weapon or the capacity to build one, including the fissile material necessary to fuel one”. Blinken further affirmed: “With or without it, we will continue to take every step necessary to deal with Iran’s activities, Iran’s aggression, whether it’s in the Middle East or beyond. And we’re seeing that now with the provision of UAVs to Russia to help it continue its aggression against the Ukrainian people”. Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson subsequently remarked that “we do not do talks for the sake of talks. Iran is ready for the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, but it seems Washington does not have the political will”.

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