The Biden administration has reportedly discussed a proposal for an interim Iran agreement with European and Israeli officials in recent weeks, Axios reported on Monday evening.
According to the report, the proposed agreement would see some sanctions being eased in exchange for a partial freezing of the Iranian nuclear program.
The Biden administration has reportedly been working on the new arrangement since January and briefed its Israeli and European allies on it in February.
However, while Iran is aware of the new agreement that may soon be placed on the table, they have so far shown no interest in upholding any part of it, sources told Axios.
A White House National Security spokesperson told Axios that President Biden is "absolutely committed to ensuring Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon, and we still believe diplomacy is the best way to achieve that objective."
They added that the administration is preparing for all possible options in full coordination with its allies, but said that they would not "comment on second-hand rumors about diplomatic discussions, other than to caution that nearly all such rumors are false."
“The Iranians killed the prospect for a swift return to compliance with the JCPOA.”
Ned Price
US in January: Return to Iran deal “isn’t on the agenda”
Back in January of this year, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said on Monday that a return to compliance with the JCPOA “isn’t on the agenda,” while reassuring that the US and Israel are in “absolute consensus” on the need to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“It’s not on the agenda for primarily one reason; that’s because the Iranians turned their back on it, the Iranians reneged on commitments they had made,” he said in a press briefing at the State Department.
“The Iranians killed the prospect for a swift return to compliance with the JCPOA,” he said when asked about President’s Biden tape in which he recently said that the deal is ‘dead.’
Omri Nahmias contributed to this report.