EU, US Say They’re Studying Iran’s Response to Nuclear Proposal

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell attends a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, February 28, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell attends a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, February 28, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
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EU, US Say They’re Studying Iran’s Response to Nuclear Proposal

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell attends a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, February 28, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell attends a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, February 28, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

The European Union and United States said on Tuesday they were studying Iran's response to what the EU has called its "final" proposal to save a 2015 nuclear deal after Tehran called on Washington to show flexibility.

A US State Department spokesperson said the United States was sharing its views on Iran's response with the European Union after receiving Tehran's comments from the bloc.

"For the moment, we are studying it and we are consulting with the other JCPOA participants and the US on the way forward," an EU spokesperson told reporters in Brussels, referring to the nuclear deal by the official abbreviation JCPOA.

She declined to give a time frame for any reaction from the EU.

After 16 months of fitful, indirect US-Iranian talks, with the EU shuttling between the parties, a senior EU official said on Aug. 8 the bloc had laid down a "final" offer and expected a response within a "very, very few weeks".

Iran responded to the proposal late on Monday but none of the parties provided any details.

Earlier on Monday, Iran's foreign minister called on the US to show flexibility to resolve three remaining issues, suggesting Tehran's response would not be a final acceptance or rejection.

Washington has said it is ready to quickly seal a deal to restore the 2015 accord on the basis of the EU proposals.

Diplomats and officials have told Reuters that whether or not Tehran and Washington accept the EU's "final" offer, neither is likely to declare the pact dead because keeping it alive serves both sides' interests.

The stakes are high, since failure in the nuclear negotiations would carry the risk of a fresh regional war, with Israel threatening military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapons capability.

Iran, which has long denied having such ambitions, has warned of a "crushing" response to any Israeli attack.

In 2018, then-President Donald Trump reneged on the nuclear deal reached before he took office, calling it too soft on Iran, and reimposed harsh US sanctions, spurring Tehran to begin breaching its limits on uranium enrichment.



Israel Launches Communications Satellite from Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lifts off at Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy Space Center before the launch of Axiom Space Axiom Mission on June 25, 2025, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images/AFP
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lifts off at Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy Space Center before the launch of Axiom Space Axiom Mission on June 25, 2025, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images/AFP
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Israel Launches Communications Satellite from Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lifts off at Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy Space Center before the launch of Axiom Space Axiom Mission on June 25, 2025, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images/AFP
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lifts off at Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy Space Center before the launch of Axiom Space Axiom Mission on June 25, 2025, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images/AFP

Israel on Sunday said it had launched a new national communications satellite on board a SpaceX rocket from the United States.

The Dror 1 satellite was blasted into orbit on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral in Florida, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and the foreign ministry said.

"This $200 million 'smartphone in space' will power Israel's strategic and civilian communications for 15 years," the ministry wrote on X.

Accompanying video footage showed the reusable, two-stage rocket lift off into the night sky. SpaceX said the launch happened at 1:04 am in Florida (0504 GMT Sunday).

IAI, which called the launch "a historic leap for Israeli space technology", said when it announced the project to develop and build Dror 1 that it was "the most advanced communication satellite ever built in Israel".

In September 2016, an unmanned Falcon 9 rocket exploded during a test in Florida, destroying Israel's Amos-6 communications satellite, which was estimated to have cost between $200 and 300 million.