US Considering All Options To Prevent Iran From Obtaining Nuclear Weapons - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th January, 2023) Washington is considering all options to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons to curb Tehran's "harmful" activities, the Al Arabiya broadcaster reported on Sunday, citing US State Secretary Anthony Blinken.

Earlier in the day, Blinken arrived in Cairo, where he is scheduled to hold a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi.

Blinken said that different options of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons were under discussion, as cited by the broadcaster.

The state secretary also said that Washington was continuing to look for ways to curb Iran's "harmful" activities, according to the report.

Earlier in January, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that Tehran was ready to renew talks on the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iranian nuclear deal, but the negotiations must be based on realistic approach without any preliminary conditions.

The JCPOA was negotiated between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council as well as Germany and the European Union in July 2015. In 2018, the US unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA, saying that Iran had violated the deal by developing nuclear weapons in secret. In response, Iran suspended parts of its own obligations under the deal, demanding the US lift sanctions.

In December 2021, the sides achieved an agreement on two segments of the deal during talks in Vienna, however the US said that there was no significant progress and urged Tehran to treat the issue more seriously. In late August 2022, Iran sent the EU its response to the draft agreement on the restoration of the nuclear deal, expressing its concerns over remaining issues. The EU, in turn, called Iran's response constructive and said it would be consulting with the United States on further steps. Iran received the US proposal a couple of days later.