White House official reportedly says return to Iran nuclear deal ‘highly unlikely’

27 July 2022, 7:25 pm

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Enrique Mora, a leading European Union diplomat, second right, attends a meeting with Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani, third left, in Tehran, Iran, March 27, 2022. (Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP)

Brett McGurk, US President Joe Biden’s Middle East coordinator, says the US and Iran are “highly unlikely” to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, according to a report by the Axios news site.

The report says the diplomat told a group of think tank experts last week that the Biden administration will likely focus on using sanctions and isolating Iran diplomatically while holding back on a military strike, unless the use of force is absolutely necessary.

McGurk said differences between the US and Israel on the issue are not related to a potential military strike, but whether the US should revive the 2015 deal, or try for new, more forceful limitations on Iran, Axios reports.