US Expects 'Difficult' Iran Talks, Sees No Quick Breakthrough
Voice of America
The United States expects indirect talks with Iran that begin Tuesday about both sides resuming compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to be difficult and does not foresee any early breakthrough.
"We don't underestimate the scale of the challenges ahead," U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Monday. "These are early days. We don't anticipate an early or immediate breakthrough as these discussions, we fully expect, will be difficult," he told reporters. U.S. and Iranian officials are scheduled to begin indirect talks in Vienna, with European officials expected to act as intermediaries, to try to revive the 2015 pact under which economic sanctions on Iran were eased in return for curbs on Iran's nuclear program to make it harder to develop a nuclear weapon. Tehran denies seeking to develop such weapons.Israeli soldiers clean a tank gun barrel after returning from the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel, June 5, 2024. FILE - U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the Middle East at the White House in Washington, May 31, 2024. Local residents protest U.S. President Joe Biden's administration support of Israel amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to Oakland, California, June 5, 2024.
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