'Very hard' to rejoin Iran nuclear deal if talks drag on: Blinken
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Talks were on in Vienna till just a few days ago to revive the deal but they have now been adjourned
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Friday that it would be 'very hard' for US to rejoin Iran nuclear deal if talks dragged on.
The nuclear deal with Iran was struck by world powers in 2015. But the deal faced uncertainties as former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew US from the agreement.
"There will come a point, yes, where it will be very hard to return back to the standards set by the JCPOA," Blinken told reporters in Paris,
Talks were on in Vienna till just a few days ago to revive the deal but they have now been adjourned. Another factor that has been added to the mix is election of hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi as President of Iran. Though he hasn't put out a definitive statement making clear his position on reviving the nuclear deal, he categorically said that he would not be meeting US President Joe Biden.
No date has been decided for resumption of Vienna talks.
Ebrahim Raisi said earlier this week that he would not allow negotiations for negotiation's sake.
"Any negotiations that guarantee national interests will certainly be supported, but... we will not allow negotiations to be for negotiation's sake," he said in his first press conference on Monday (June 25).
(With inputs from agencies)