‘Still talking’: President Biden says too early to call the outcome of talks with Iran

President Joe Biden during a joint press conference with Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga on Friday said, “I think it’s premature to make a judgment as to what the outcome will be, but I think we’re still talking,” while talking about ongoing indirect talks with Iran to revive a nuclear deal. 

While commenting on Iran’s uranium enrichment move, Biden said the United States does “not think that it’s at all helpful” that Iran this week in a reply to sabotage carried out on a nuclear facility believed to have been carried out by Israel, reported AFP. 

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He further said, “We are nonetheless pleased that Iran has continued to agree to engage in discussions” even though it was too early to know whether indirect talks would ultimately succeed.

Even though Biden restated that he supported the previous agreement negotiated when he was Vice President in Obama’s administration in 2015, he said would not make any “major concessions” to return to it.

On Friday, the State Department said the US delegation will remain in Vienna, where indirect talks through European intermediaries is currently in process with Iran. 

Also Read: Enrichment, sabotage under spotlight over new Iran nuclear talks

Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump had rubbished the nuclear deal and imposed a set of economic sanctions that included a ban on other countries from buying oil from Iran. 

Iran in turn first wants the US to lift sanctions before it takes a step back from the measure it undertook to protest Trump’s economic sanctions.