U.S. reacts to Iranian comments on draft nuclear deal

The U.S. and Iran are closing in on an agreement to restore the 2015 nuclear deal after almost 17 months of negotiations.

The United States relayed to the EU its much-awaited response to Iran’s comments on the draft proposal to restore the nuclear deal, a U.S. official familiar with the matter said.

The spokesperson of the Iranian Foreign Ministry Nasser Kanaani confirmed that it had received the U.S. response via EU senior official Enrique Mora, who acts as a mediator and coordinator of the talks. Iran still refuses to talk directly with the U.S. “Iran has started reviewing the US comments, and after the review Tehran will submit its views to the coordinator,” Kanaani said.

The U.S. response is expected to focus on final sticking points related to Iranian demands for economic guarantees and sanctions relief.

In recent days, European officials have expressed increasing optimism they could revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which lifted many U.S. sanctions on Iran in exchange for strict but temporary curbs on its nuclear program. Western officials say that a number of technical questions related to economic guarantees and sanctions remain open but that other main sticking points have been resolved, making an agreement more likely. But they still cautioned that it would require tough political decisions both in Washington and Tehran in order to close a deal.