Secretary of state Anthony Blinken. US Embassy Nigeria, Public Domain, via Flickr.
US secretary of state Anthony Blinken said this week that Iran has not given indications of its willingness to return to compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
In a hearing at the House foreign affairs committee, Blinken said that the negotiating sides are “not even at the stage of returning to compliance for compliance” with the 2015 nuclear agreement.
“We do not know if that’s actually going to happen”, he continued. “We’ve been engaged in direct conversations for the last couple of months and it remains unclear whether Iran is willing and prepared to do what it needs to do to come back into compliance.”
Meanwhile, he said, Iran’s nuclear program was “galloping forward”, having “lifted restraints imposed on it by the agreement including the amount of enriched material that it has; material that’s now, in some cases, enriched up to 20% and even a small amount to 60%”.
Blinken also stressed American commitment to the Iron Dome’s replenishment. “We are working with the Israelis to fully understand their needs and working with Congress, most importantly, to make sure that we can secure the funding for that replenishment.”
Blinken was also asked about other issues relating to Israel, in reply to which he reconfirmed US support for Israeli control of the Golan Heights and support for Israeli actions against Hamas in Gaza.