“We are studying it and will respond through the EU, but unfortunately it is not constructive,” the State Department spokesperson said.
Iran sent its reply to the EU on Thursday after careful examination, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in a statement on Telegram.
“The sent text has a constructive approach with the aim of finalizing the negotiations,” the statement said.
CNN has reached out to the EU for comment.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian both reiterated this week that a probe by the United Nations nuclear watchdog into uranium traces previously found at undeclared research sites in Iran would need to be closed before Tehran agreed to return to the deal.
US officials had previously voiced some optimism around the latest efforts to revive the nuclear deal, which the US left in 2018 during the Trump administration and which Tehran has increasingly violated since then. However, they also stressed that gaps remain between the two sides.
It is also expected to face significant domestic opposition from US congressional lawmakers, and has been denounced by Israel, whose prime minister said “will act to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear state.” The negotiations over the nuclear deal are also set against a backdrop of continued concerns about threats from Iranian and Iranian-backed military groups.
