U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price emphasized that it is up to Iran to clarify whether it is "ready to engage constructively, set aside strange issues, and speak good faith regarding the nuclear agreement that has been on the table for some time." In response to a question from "Al-Hurra" about whether the recent conversation between the French and Iranian presidents moved negotiations forward regarding a return to the nuclear agreement, he stated, "The French side issued a statement clarifying that President Macron conveyed precisely the same message that we had indirectly communicated to the Iranians and publicly issued some time ago." He added, "We are ready to re-enter the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the basis of mutual return, but mutual means from both sides, and the Iranians need to do the same, which we have not yet seen from the Iranians until today."
Western powers warn that Iran is nearing the capability to make a nuclear bomb, while Iran denies any desire to do so. Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington about reviving the 2015 agreement have been stalled since March. The semi-official Iranian news agency "Tasnim" reported, citing the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammed Islami, that Tehran will not operate the cameras of the International Atomic Energy Agency that were removed in June until the agreement is revived. Tehran informed the IAEA that it had removed its equipment, including 27 cameras installed under the agreement, after the agency passed a resolution criticizing Iran in June.
