The US National Security Council denied on Thursday reports that Washington has made new concessions to Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.
Earlier, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch suggested in a tweet that the United States was considering giving Iran guarantees that included ending the International Atomic Energy Agency’s investigation, protecting Western companies and allowing Iran to accelerate its nuclear program if a future administration leaves the pact, reported Sputnik.
“Nothing here is true,” the NSC wrote via Twitter on Thursday in response to Risch’s allegations. “We would never accept such terms. Nor would we have left a deal that only worked to see Iran massively accelerate its nuclear program.”
Later, NSC spokeswoman Adrienne Watson denied similar allegations found in a report by the UK-based news site Iran International.
“Reports that we have accepted or are considering new concessions to Iran as part of re-entering the 2015 nuclear deal are categorically false,” Watson said.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid spoke to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday, pressing Israel's position that efforts to revive a nuclear deal with Iran should end, a senior Israeli diplomatic official said.
As well as speaking with Scholz, Lapid spoke to Ted Deutch, chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee's Middle East Subcommittee, and with the US ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, the official said.
The head of Israel's National Security Council, Eyal Hulata, is due to travel to the United States next week for more talks.
The conversations came days after the European Union submitted a “final” draft text aimed at salvaging the nuclear deal which former US President Donald Trump walked away from in 2018.
In an emailed statement, the Israeli official said the time had come to walk away from the talks with Iran, adding: “Anything else sends a message of weakness.”
“Now is the time to sit and talk about what to do going forward in order to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” the official said.
Israel has repeatedly spoken out against efforts to revive the deal, reserving the right to take military action to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon or against Iranian-backed militant groups in the region.
Iran, which has long denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon, has warned of a “crushing” response to any Israeli attack.
