US ‘cautiously optimistic’ about Iran nuclear deal

The US has voiced “cautious optimism” about the revival of the Iran nuclear deal following Tehran’s willingness to drop some of its demands, Anadolu has reported.

“We still remain hopeful that we can get a reimplementation of the JCPOA,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was signed in 2015, but the US under Donald Trump pulled out unilaterally in 2018.

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“We do believe we’re closer now than we have been in recent weeks and months, due in large part to Iran being willing to drop some of their demands that were not related to the deal at all. We’re cautiously optimistic that things can continue to move in the right direction.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that reaching an agreement on reviving the nuclear deal would be within reach if the US was “realistic”. His ministry announced last week that it had received the American response to its proposals to resolve outstanding issues in the nuclear negotiations.

Diplomats from Iran, the US and five other countries have been negotiating for months in the Austrian capital Vienna to revive the nuclear deal.