Iran is “desperately” signalling its willingness to go back to the negotiating table to get sanctions relief, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday at the IISS Manama Dialogue. The top diplomat, however, did not elaborate on precisely in what manner Iran is showing its desire for the resumption of the talks.
Earlier in the day, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas speculated that there should be a broader agreement with Iran in place of the one existing now, which, according to him, "was not enough". His statement comes just a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif cemented Iran's stance on the deal, saying that renegotiating it was out of question.
The United States has intensified its economic pressure on Iran since the withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018.
Under President Donald Trump's administration, the United States has imposed 77 rounds of Iran-related sanctions, targeting close to 15,000 individuals and entities.
The US move to pull out of the deal and punish Iran with sanctions prompted Tehran to scale back its obligations under the nuclear deal and enrich uranium at levels higher than those agreed upon in the accord.