On Twitter, an adviser to Iran’s negotiating team, Mohammad Marandi, said Iran had “expressed its concerns” about the draft, but “the rest of the issues are not too difficult to resolve.” “These concerns are based on past US/EU violations. I can’t say there will be a deal, but we are closer than we were before,” Marandi wrote. The United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump. In the wake of the US withdrawal, Iran has increasingly violated the agreements it made under the deal and expanded its nuclear program. Iran said any final deal would have to protect the country’s rights and guarantee the lifting of sanctions, which could free up tens of billions of dollars in oil and gas revenue and boost Iran’s struggling economy. Citing the position of the Iranian negotiating team, IRNA reported on Tuesday that there were still differences on three issues. On two of these issues, the US “expressed its verbal flexibility,” IRNA reported. The third issue concerns the parties “guaranteeing the continuation” of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA), according to IRNA. And that “depends on the realism of the United States to secure Iran’s opinion,” IRNA said, citing the negotiating team. The issues were discussed in detail on Monday during a special meeting of the National Security Council, IRNA reported. The European Union has not officially acknowledged receiving Iran’s response. Earlier on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that if the US showed a realistic and flexible response to Iran’s offer, “we would be at the point of agreement.” Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran is ready to reach a conclusion through a foreign ministerial meeting and announce the final deal if its views are accepted. “The next few days are important days,” he said. Last week, a State Department spokesman told CNN that the US is “ready to quickly strike a deal based on the EU’s proposals.”
