The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is shepherding attempts to save the suspended Iran nuclear deal, said Monday that recent exchanges left him "less confident".

Borrell said of Iran's latest response to an EU-drafted text last week, which hardened Tehran's demands on Washington, "if the purpose is to close the deal quickly, it is not going to help it".

On August 7, Borrell put forward what he called a final text to restore the 2015 accord, which was abandoned by former US president Donald Trump in 2018.

Talks to revive the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action have been ongoing in Vienna since April 2021, and in recent weeks Iran and Washington have been responding to the EU text.

On Thursday, however, Washington said that Iran's latest proposed changes to the text were "not constructive" and on Monday Iran complained that it had not yet received an official US response.

Speaking at a news conference in Brussels, Borrell said that his initial "carefully balanced" text had been "well received" and that initially it had seemed the parties were converging on a common position.

"But the last interaction is not converging, it is diverging," he said. "That is very much worrisome, if the process does not converge. The whole process is in danger.

"So I have to say that the last answer I got, if the purpose is to close the deal quickly, it is not going to help it," he said.

"So what I'm doing to keep consulting with all other JCPOA participants, and in particular the US.

"But I'm sorry to say that I am less confident today than 28 hours before about the convergence of the negotiation process and about the prospect of closing the deal right now."

Iran says has not received US response on nuclear proposal
Tehran (AFP) Sept 5, 2022 –

Iran has not received the United States' official response to its last proposal on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said Monday.

"Iran is waiting to receive the response from other parties, notably that of the American government," he said during his weekly news conference in Tehran.

His remarks come after the United States last Thursday said Tehran's latest response on reviving the 2015 accord was "not constructive".

"We can confirm that we have received Iran's response through the EU," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said late Thursday in Washington. "We are studying it and will respond through the EU, but unfortunately it is not constructive."

Kanani said on Monday that Tehran had "never received a response… saying that its position was not constructive".

He characterised Iran's response as "constructive, clear and legal".

"Iran is trying to cancel sanctions to economically benefit the Iranian nation and this is one of its top priorities," Kanani said.

The European Union put forward on August 8 what it called a final text to restore the 2015 nuclear accord, which was abandoned by former US president Donald Trump in 2018.

Talks to revive the 2015 accord known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action have been ongoing in Vienna since April 2021.

The deal granted Iran much-needed sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme to prevent it from acquiting a nuclear weapon, a goal that Tehran has denied pursuing.