Washington denied Monday suggestions it is stalling a potential agreement to resurrect the Iran nuclear deal after a "final" draft was circulated, but said outstanding questions remain.

"The notion that we have delayed this negotiation in any way is just not true," said State Department spokesman Ned Price.

After the EU sent the proposed text to both Tehran and Washington in late July, Iran "responded with several comments," Price said, without being specific.

"This is why it has taken us some additional time to review those comments and to determine our response of our own," he said.

"We are seriously reviewing those comments."

Earlier Monday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is leading the effort to bring the United States and Iran together in agreement, suggested Washington was now slowing the process.

"There was an Iranian response that I considered reasonable to transmit to the United States," he said.

"The United States has not formally replied yet. But we are waiting for their response and I hope that response will allow us to finish the negotiation -- I hope so, but I can't assure you of it."

Price said Washington was "encouraged" by the fact that Tehran appeared to have dropped an earlier demand that, to complete a deal, the United States remove its formal designation of the Islamic Republican Guard Corps as an international terrorist organization.

That was one of the issues that has appeared to hold up progress on a final agreement that was sketched out in March.

However, Price added, "there are still some outstanding issues that must be resolved, some gaps that must be bridged, if we are able to get there."

"We are working as quickly as we can to put together an appropriate response to the Iranian paper," he said.

Iran and major global powers struck a deal in 2015 to limit Tehran's nuclear program with the aim of preventing it from obtaining nuclear weapons.

But in 2018 US President Donald Trump, a strong critic of the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), unilaterally pulled out and slapped heavier sanctions on Iran.

Since then Iran has accelerated its nuclear research and development activities, getting closer to where it would be able to create a nuclear bomb.

Since coming into office in January 2021, US President Joe Biden has pressed to revive the JCPOA in exchange for alleviating sanctions on Iran.

Iran slams US 'delay' in response to nuclear proposals
Tehran (AFP) Aug 22, 2022 - Iran on Monday criticised the US for what it said was a slow response to proposals aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear deal between the Islamic republic and major powers.

The United States and the European Union have been studying Iran's response to a "final" draft agreement on reviving the landmark accord for the past week.

"What is important is the delay by the US side for issuing its response," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said.

"We acted in this regard in a timely manner and always showed that we are responsible," he told reporters in Tehran.

"The US government is responsible for the current situation, and if it shows its political determination in action seriously and alongside promise and comment, acts responsibly, we can move toward the next stage."

Since taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden has sought to return the US to the deal that was unilaterally abandoned by his predecessor Donald Trump in 2018.

Talks on reviving the accord started in April 2021, and took a pause following the election of ultra-conservative Ebrahim Raisi as Iran's president in June that year, before resuming in November.

The 2015 agreement between Iran and six world powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- gave the Islamic republic sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme.

The deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, was designed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon -- something it has always denied wanting to do.

The British, French, German and US leaders spoke about the Iran nuclear issue during a phone conversation on Sunday, according to a White House statement.

They "discussed ongoing negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme, the need to strengthen support for partners in the Middle East region, and joint efforts to deter and constrain Iran's destabilising regional activities," the statement said.

EU says Iran nuclear deal meeting possible 'this week'
Madrid (AFP) Aug 22, 2022 - A possible meeting on resurrecting the Iran nuclear deal could be held "this week" after Tehran submitted its response to an EU proposal, the European Union's top diplomat said Monday.

Efforts to revive the so-called JCPOA -- the 2015 agreement between world powers and Tehran aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions -- are at a critical juncture.

"A meeting was scheduled to take place in Vienna at the end of last week, but it was not possible," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a news conference in Santander, Spain.

"It is possible that it could take place this week."

Earlier this month, after more than a year of talks coordinated by Borrell and his team, the EU submitted what it called a "final" text.

The document aims at fully restoring the nuclear deal by bringing the United States back into it, after then-president Donald Trump had Washington withdraw in 2018.

That move prompted Iran to roll back its commitments under the JCPOA and steadily enrich its stock of uranium to close to weapons-grade levels.

Borrell said the negotiations had gone as far as they could go and "this is the inflection point".

"There was an Iranian response that I considered reasonable to transmit to the United States.

"The United States has not formally replied yet. But we are waiting for their response and I hope that response will allow us to finish the negotiation -- I hope so, but I can't assure you of it."

The other parties to the JCPOA are Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday spoke by phone to Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who claimed the new terms "go beyond the limits of the original JCPOA".

Tehran is Israel's arch foe and Lapid warned that reviving the landmark accord could boost funding to Iran's regional proxies.

"It will pave the way for significant investment to flow into Iran's terrorist network and to strengthening the Iranian military," said a statement from Lapid's office.

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