US says it is not delaying Iran nuclear talks
Washington denied suggestions it is stalling a potential agreement to resurrect the Iran nuclear deal after a "final" draft was circulated, but said outstanding questions remain.
"The notion that we have delayed this negotiation in any way is just not true," said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
After the EU sent the proposed text to both Tehran and Washington in late July, Iran "responded with several comments," Price said, without being specific.
"This is why it has taken us some additional time to review those comments and to determine our response of our own," he said.
"We are seriously reviewing those comments."
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is leading the effort to bring the United States and Iran together in agreement, suggested Washington was now slowing the process.
"There was an Iranian response that I considered reasonable to transmit to the United States," he said.
"The United States has not formally replied yet. But we are waiting for their response and I hope that response will allow us to finish the negotiation -- I hope so, but I can't assure you of it."
Price said Washington was "encouraged" by the fact that Tehran appeared to have dropped an earlier demand that, to complete a deal, the United States remove its formal designation of the Islamic Republican Guard Corps as an international terrorist organization.
That was one of the issues that has appeared to hold up progress on a final agreement that was sketched out in March.
