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US Says Iran Nuclear Deal Is 'Not Our Focus Right Now' 


FILE - In this photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, technicians work at the Arak heavy water reactor's secondary circuit, as officials and media visit the site, near Arak, Iran, Dec. 23, 2019.
FILE - In this photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, technicians work at the Arak heavy water reactor's secondary circuit, as officials and media visit the site, near Arak, Iran, Dec. 23, 2019.

The United States on Wednesday said that reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is "not our focus right now," saying that Tehran had shown little interest in reviving the pact and that Washington was concentrating on how to support Iranian protesters.

Asked if the United States was interested in pursuing talks to revive the pact under which Iran curbed its nuclear program in return for economic sanctions relief, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price replied, "That's not our focus right now.

"It is very clear, and the Iranians have made very clear, that this is not a deal that they have been prepared to make. The deal certainly does not appear imminent," Price told a briefing.

"Nothing we've heard in recent weeks suggests they have changed their position. And so right now, our focus ... is on the remarkable bravery and courage that the Iranian people are exhibiting through their peaceful demonstrations," he said.

"Our focus right now is on shining a spotlight on what they're doing and supporting them in the ways we can," he said, referring to anti-government protests ignited by the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, 22, while in the custody of Iran's morality police.

Then-U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers in 2018 and unilaterally reimposed economic sanctions that have hobbled Iran's economy by curbing its oil exports.

A year later, Tehran reacted by gradually violating the deal's nuclear limits, reviving U.S., Israeli and Gulf Arab fears that Iran may be seeking to obtain an atomic weapon, an ambition Iran denies.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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