Looking forward with strong interest for Iran's willingness to engage: US on nuclear issue

As the United Nations nuclear watchdog looks forward to a technical dialogue with Iran, the United States said it is hopeful that Iran would come forward for diplomacy after European allies dropped plans to censure Tehran at the UN nuclear watchdog.

Watch:

"We supported the e3, we supported it. We also recognize that the director general has put forward a realistic schedule which we understand Iran has accepted when it comes to the next steps. We will look forward with strong interest for Iran's willingness to engage in a way that leads to credible concrete progress on these issues," Ned Price, State Department spokesperson said.

Iran has so far refused to take part in a meeting brokered by the Europeans on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. The international atomic energy agency said that it expects to understand what is happening in Iran by this summer with the first meeting to be scheduled in early April.

Iran has accepted to discuss the impending issues including the presence of uranium particles, the status of nuclear sites and the 2015 nuclear deal restrictions.

"I'm clearly aiming at having a far more clear understanding of this issue by the summer or before. I think this is possible, this is not something impossible. We had information, we want to compare it with our Iranian counterparts," Rafael Grossi, IAEA director-general said.

Iran has been blaming the West for crippling its economy with stringent sanctions. It is expected to report back on the progress to the UN body by June.