The U.S. believes that the resumption of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in the near future is "highly unlikely". Brett McGurk, the White House special envoy for the Middle East, told a group of think tank experts, Axios reported, citing sources.
The diminishing likelihood of breaking the stalemate in the nuclear talks is increasing pressure on the Biden administration to formulate a Plan B.
McGurk said the reason is that the Iranians can't make a decision. He noted that his version is that Iran wants the U.S. "to add something to the pot" to help those who want a deal with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but "we are not going to do that."
Since a deal is unlikely in the near future, McGurk said, the Biden administration intends to use sanctions and diplomatic isolation against Iran, "but not needlessly escalate the situation" and to use force only as a last resort, sources said.
He said the disagreement with Israel was not over the issue of a possible military strike, but over whether the U.S. should still try to revive the 2015 nuclear deal or move forward with a "longer and stronger" deal.
The last round of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran, held a month ago in Qatar, ended without progress or a date for the next round.
During his trip to the Middle East, President Biden said the U.S. would not "wait forever" for Iran's response to a proposal to reopen the deal.
U.S. officials are concerned that the nuclear deal is close to becoming irrelevant as Iran has taken steps to advance its nuclear program and limit the work of U.N. inspectors.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is leading mediation efforts between the U.S. and Iran, said in a Financial Times article that after 15 months of negotiations, he concluded that "the space for additional significant compromises has been exhausted."
Borrell wrote that he submitted a draft agreement for review that details the lifting of U.S. sanctions as well as the nuclear steps Iran must take.
"This text represents the best possible deal… decisions need to be taken now… if the deal is rejected, we risk a dangerous nuclear crisis," Borrell wrote.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told his Omani counterpart in a phone call that reaching an agreement depends on realistic behavior and flexibility on the American side. Iran is serious about reaching a strong and credible agreement.
