United States President Joe Biden has asked his team to be prepared "with other options" if nuclear diplomacy with Iran failed, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Thursday, 9 December.
"President Biden is committed to ensuring Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon. Given the ongoing advances in Iran's nuclear program, President (Joe Biden) has asked his team to be prepared in the event that diplomacy fails and we must turn to other options," Psaki said.
"If diplomacy cannot get on track soon and if Iran's nuclear programme continues to accelerate, then we will have no choice but to take additional measures to further restrict Iran's revenue-producing sectors," added Psaki.
Talks to revive the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), had restarted on 29 November, in Vienna, with Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia attending the negotiations, Reuters had reported.
The United States, the primary architect of the JCPOA under President Barack Obama, did not attend the talks but kept a close eye on them.
Before the commencement of the talks, Iran had said that it was determined to "reach an agreement" and was "looking forward to fruitful talks", The Hindu had reported.
In 2018, the US under President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal, leading Iran to expand its nuclear stockpile and prohibiting regular inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency as required by the JCPOA.
(With inputs from ANI.)
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