US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said there is no "evidence of an Iran that is interested in actually being a responsible actor."
"Just this past week we saw them remove IAEA inspectors who are critical to doing the work at the IAEA to - as best you can - ensure that Iran is consistent with whatever obligations it has," he said.
"That is not evidence of an Iran that is interested in actually being a responsible actor."
Iran barred multiple International Atomic Energy (IAEA) inspectors assigned to the country.
Blinken clarified on Saturday that Iran's nuclear activities significantly destabilize the region and pose threats to countries in the area and beyond.
The Secretary said that the Biden administration is determined to prevent Iran from ever acquiring a nuclear weapon, believing diplomacy is the most effective route.
"We tried to work indirectly with Iran as well as with European partners and even Russia and China to see if we can get a return to compliance with the Iran nuclear deal ... But Iran couldn't or wouldn't do that," Blinken told reporters.
Later, the European Union's foreign coordinator, Enrique Mora, announced that he met with Iran, Europe, and the US officials regarding the negotiations that have been at an impasse since last year.
Mora wrote on his "X" account: “As customary, JCPOA was in the margins of the UN General Assembly 2023 week. I met Bagheri Kani, US Envoy in Iran, and European diplomats."
He referred to the EU policy that can only be reached through a comprehensive deal on concrete, fully verifiable nuclear limitations on Iran's nuclear program.
The Spanish diplomat added that substantial IAEA monitoring, comprehensive sanctions lifting, and provisions on nuclear cooperation allow Iran to have a solid, transparent atomic industry, including research, has been fully vindicated.
"You can call it JCPOA or the best deal ever, but there's no alternative."
Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, told official Iranian television on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York that the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal will be "within reach" if the US stops its "contradictory behaviors."
Amir-Abdollahian noted that he met with members of a US think tank and several former US officials in New York to explicitly discuss bilateral issues, one of which was Washington's "wrong" approach toward Iran and the JCPOA.
The minister met Saturday his Swedish counterpart, Tobias Billstrom, on the sidelines of the General Assembly, marking their first official encounter following prolonged diplomatic tensions between Stockholm and Tehran.
Relations between Iran and Sweden are tense after Tehran detained Swedish citizens in Iran and executed one of them.
Weeks before the General Assembly, news leaked of the detention of a Swedish diplomat, who has been working for the European Union, held in Tehran for over 500 days.
Tensions escalated as Tehran intensified its criticisms of Sweden following an incident where an extremist Iraqi immigrant burned a copy of the Quran.
Amir-Abdollahian also discussed enhancing bilateral relations with his South Korean counterpart, Chung Eui-yong, mainly after Seoul transferred frozen Iranian assets under the US-Iran prisoner exchange deal conducted last week.
The South Korean foreign ministry announced that the two diplomats agreed to push bilateral relations to broader horizons through high-level communications.
Both ministers acknowledged the smooth execution of the recent transfer of Tehran's frozen funds in Seoul to a third country.
