“We are close to a possible deal,” Jalina Porter, the US State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, told reporters, according to Reuters.
She cautioned, however, that unsolved issues remained and that time was of the essence given the pace of Iran’s nuclear advances.
Porter’s comment came as an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report showed Iran’s stock of uranium enriched up to 60% fissile purity had almost doubled to 33.2 kg (110 pounds). A senior diplomat said this was around three-quarters of the amount needed, if enriched further, for a nuclear bomb according to a common yardstick.
The UN nuclear watchdog report was seen by Reuters as negotiators seek to resurrect the deal between world powers and Iran.
Iran has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal, in response to former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May of 2018.
However, it has held several rounds of indirect talks with the US on reviving the deal. The talks, held in Vienna, have been mediated by the European parties to the 2015 deal.
US, Iranian and European officials all said on Thursday an agreement had not yet been struck even as some participants were upbeat.
