US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said in closed conversations that the nuclear agreement with Iran will not be implemented, Israel Hayom reported on Thursday.

• According to the report, Sherman spoke in recent days with some of the Democratic members of Congress who oppose the nuclear deal with Iran, and expressed frustration with Iran’s moves during the negotiations and with the fact that, despite all the administration’s attempts, Tehran is still making maneuvers that are preventing an agreement from being reached.

Due to the lack of progress, Sherman estimated in those conversations that the agreement with Iran will not be signed at least until the “midterm elections” to be held on November 8. She said that the agreement with Iran might not be signed at all.

The report comes as the negotiations between the US and Iran appear to have reached a stalemate.

Iran last week announced it had submitted its comments to the US response to the European Union’s draft for reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

• While Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at the time that Iran’s response was prepared based on a constructive approach, a senior Biden administration official told Politico, “We are studying Iran’s response, but the bottom line is that it is not at all encouraging.”
• Last Friday, a senior European official directly involved in nuclear talks with Iran told Axios’ Barak Ravid that Iran’s latest response to the EU’s proposal is unreasonable and indicates that the Iranians are not interested in closing a deal.

On Monday, the Iranian spokesperson once again insisted that Iran’s response to the US viewpoints on the European Union’s proposed final draft of a potential nuclear agreement was “constructive, clear and legal”.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that gaps remain between the US and Iran in the talks on a return to the 2015 nuclear deal.

“We’ve said this many times: We have taken a deliberate and principled approach to these negotiations from the start. If Iran is prepared to comply with comments — with its commitments under 2015 deal, then we are prepared to do the same,” she said.

• Pressed on the timeline that President Joe Biden is looking at for an agreement, Jean-Pierre replied, “Look, it’s a regular back-and-forth. As we have said, we are studying the response in coordination with our E3 allies. As you know, we have received a response. Again, we’re not going to negotiate in public. Some gaps have closed in recent weeks but others have remained.”

Source: Arutz Sheva