The State Department on Thursday said reports of a potential agreement between the US and Iran related to Iran’s nuclear program are “not true.”
“With respect to Iran’s nuclear program, there is no deal. The reports that there is a deal or some agreement or some other description, however, you want to describe it, are not true,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Miller’s comments come after multiple media outlets have reported that the US and Iran are close to a deal that would involve Iran pledging not to increase uranium enrichment in exchange for access to frozen Iranian funds. The two sides are also reportedly discussing a potential prisoner swap.
On Wednesday, The New York Times quoted an Iranian official who called the potential deal a “political ceasefire” to reduce soaring tensions between the two countries. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israel Knesset’s foreign affairs committee earlier this week that the US and Iran might reach a “mini agreement.”
Iran has confirmed it held indirect negotiations with the US in the Omani capital of Muscat in recent months. Oman’s foreign minister on Wednesday said that the two sides are close to finalizing an agreement on Americans who are held in Tehran and said there was a “seriousness” to also reach a deal on Iran’s civilian nuclear program.
Despite the deluge of reports and signs that the two sides are working out an agreement, the Biden administration continues to deny it, possibly due to pressure from Iran hawks in Congress.
Source: AntiWar.
