Commenting on recent developments in the nuclear deal negotiations, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken affirmed that “we have closed some gaps in recent weeks. Iran has moved away from some extraneous requirements that are not related to the JCPOA as such.”

He pointed out, according to a report by the French Press Agency (AFP), that “but the latest response (from Iran) made us come back. We’re not going to agree to an agreement that doesn’t meet our basic requirements.” noting that “if we reach an agreement, it is only because it will support our national security.”

US President Joe Biden is backing a revival of the deal that would ease sanctions on Iran and allow it to resume selling its oil around the world in exchange for tough restrictions on its nuclear program. But there are still contentious issues, perhaps most notably Iran’s insistence that the International Atomic Energy Agency close files on three undeclared objects suspected of having witnessed nuclear activity in the past, according to the agency.