Blinken denies ‘agreement’ with Iran amid talk of informal deal
The US Secretary of State said "there is no agreement in the offing" amid reports the two countries are close to an informal arrangement aimed at de-escalating tensions.
WASHINGTON — Asked whether the United States is pursuing an informal arrangement with Iran, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday there is "no agreement in the offing.”
“We continue to be willing to explore diplomatic paths,” Blinken told a Council on Foreign Relations event in New York. “Whether Iran chooses itself to take actions — or maybe better put — not to take actions that further escalate the tensions not only between us, but with other countries, we'll see by their actions.”
More than two years after President Joe Biden came into office promising a “longer and stronger” nuclear deal with Tehran, the two countries are said to now be considering a lesser, potentially unwritten, understanding to cool tensions.
In addition to pausing its uranium enrichment at 60% purity, The New York Times reports the informal arrangement would involve Iran pledging to halt proxy attacks on American contractors in Iraq and Syria, restore some cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and refrain from sending ballistic missiles to Russia. Reportedly wedded to that are talks to release detained Americans Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz in exchange for limited access to Iranian assets frozen abroad under US sanctions.
