WASHINGTON, 01 November 2021, (TON): Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “the United States was absolutely in lock step with Britain, Germany and France on getting Iran back into a nuclear deal.”

 But he added that it was unclear if Tehran was willing to rejoin the talks in a meaningful way.

Blinken’s remarks in an interview with media come a day after the US, Germany, France and Britain urged Iran to resume compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal in order to “avoid a dangerous escalation.”

The accord, under which Iran curtailed nuclear work seen as a risk of developing nuclear weapons in exchange for a lifting of global sanctions, unraveled in 2018 after then-President Donald Trump withdrew the US, prompting Tehran to breach limits on uranium enrichment set by the pact.

Blinken said “it really depends on whether Iran is serious about doing that.”

He added “all of our countries, working by the way with Russia and China, believe strongly that that would be the best path forward.”

The nuclear deal is not the only point of contention between Iran and the US. On Friday, Washington issued a fresh round of Iran-related sanctions tied to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps drone program that it said threatened regional stability.