• The US hopes to resurrect a 2015 nuclear agreement after Iran announced it would soften key conditions.
• Gaps exist, but if we return to the accord, Iran would have to cease its nuclear programme,” a Biden administration official said.
• Despite Iran’s diplomatic gains, the US official said Tehran “made important concessions.

Iran withdrew ambitions to stop certain UN nuclear inspections and to remove its formidable Revolutionary Guards off a terrorist blacklist. “Gaps exist, but if we return to the accord, Iran would have to cease its nuclear programme,” a Biden administration official said. Biden supports returning to the pact Trump destroyed, and Iran has pushed in Vienna. Despite Iran’s diplomatic gains, the US official said Tehran “made important concessions.”

Iran tried to stop an IAEA examination into three undeclared nuclear facilities where the agency had doubts about past nuclear development. Iran deactivated IAEA cameras in June after the UN body’s board chastised Tehran for not clarifying uranium traces. The senior US source said Iran will face “the most thorough inspections system ever devised” with “unlimited” monitoring. Henry Rome, Eurasia Group’s deputy research director, said Iran hasn’t surrendered on undeclared locations.

“Nobody should be shocked if this topic comes up again,” Rome remarked. The EU’s draught accord with Iran led to recent developments. EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell said “most” nations agreed to Iran’s changes. Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia also signed the JCPOA. The US official claimed that reports of additional Biden administration concessions were “categorically incorrect.” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace senior scholar Suzanne DiMaggio said both parties have to be flexible to get this far.

“Neither side would accept it, but in a high-stakes negotiation, particularly between antagonists, compromise is key,” she added.

“If both parties can portray the result as a victory, the JCPOA may be resurrected. If not, things seem dicey.” She said Biden was in a good position following legislative successes and had an interest to prevent a nuclear catastrophe with Iran amid tensions with Russia and China. Biden faces resistance from Trump’s Republican Party and Israel, which opposed the Obama-era deal. Trump placed harsh sanctions on Iran to cripple the US foe. The Biden administration says Iran’s nuclear activity accelerated despite its economy.

The senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee protested to Biden that Congress is in the dark.

“The only reasonable conclusion is that Iran’s negotiators are satisfied with the result,” Rep. Mike McCaul tweeted. “US negotiators are currently contemplating how to make additional sacrifices and sell a terrible agreement to the American people.” EU official: Iran has agreed to delay negotiations on eliminating Trump’s terrorist blacklisting of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to reports, the U.S. is considering keeping the terrorist label but not punishing Revolutionary Guards transactions. Returning to the pact would stop Trump’s unilateral restrictions on Iran selling its oil, perhaps cutting energy costs that skyrocketed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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