US Says There’re ‘No Discussions’ on Reviving Iran Nuclear Deal

The State Department says it's not on the agenda

The State Department said Monday that the US has not engaged in any discussions on reviving the Iran nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, in the latest sign that the crippling economic sanctions on Iran aren’t going anywhere.

“There has been no discussion of resuscitating the JCPOA. That is not on the agenda. It hasn’t been on the agenda when we’ve engaged with partners and it hasn’t been on the agenda when we’ve engaged indirectly with the Iranians,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a press briefing.

US officials have made clear in recent months that they have no intention of trying to revive the JCPOA. In December, footage emerged of President Biden saying the deal was “dead” but that he couldn’t announce it.

Since indirect negotiations between the US and Iran failed last summer, the Biden administration has steadily increased sanctions on Iran, continuing the so-called “maximum pressure campaign.”

The US has also expressed support for protesters inside Iran and increased military cooperation with Israel. The US and Israel recently held their largest-ever joint military exercises over Israel and in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Not long after the drills, Israel launched a drone attack against a military facility inside Iran.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.