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US preparing 'alternatives' in case Iran nuclear talks fail: Blinken
"We continue in this hour, on this day, to pursue diplomacy because it remains at this moment the best option, but we are actively engaging with allies and partners on alternatives," he said during a visit to Indonesia.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks on the Biden administration's Indo-Pacific strategy at the Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta on December 14, 2021. (AFP/Olivier Douliery)
T
he United States is preparing "alternatives" with allies in case talks on reviving a deal to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions fail, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday.
"We continue in this hour, on this day, to pursue diplomacy because it remains at this moment the best option, but we are actively engaging with allies and partners on alternatives," he said during a visit to Indonesia.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Iran accused Western parties to its 2015 nuclear deal of "persisting in their blame game", a day after European diplomats said the accord would soon be an empty shell, without progress.
"Some actors persist in their blame game habit, instead of real diplomacy. We proposed our ideas early, and worked constructively and flexibly to narrow gaps," Iran's top negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, said on Twitter.
"Diplomacy is a two-way street. If there's real will to remedy the culprit's wrongdoing, the way for a quick, good deal will be paved."
On Monday, British, French and German diplomats said major powers and Iran had yet to get down to business at talks on rescuing the nuclear deal, which will very soon become "an empty shell" without progress.
Western powers still have not had real negotiations with Iran at talks on rescuing the 2015 nuclear deal, and unless there is swift progress that deal will soon be "an empty shell," senior diplomats from France, Britain and Germany said on Monday, quoted by Reuters.
"As of this moment, we still have not been able to get down to real negotiations," the diplomats from the so-called E3 said in a statement. "Time is running out. Without swift progress, in light of Iran's fast-forwarding of its nuclear program, the JCPOA will very soon become an empty shell," they said, using the deal's full name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
