Britain's spy chief said, on Thursday, he was sceptical that Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, actually wants to revive a nuclear deal with world powers but he added that Tehran will not want to end the talks either Reuters reports.
Richard Moore, chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) known as MI6, said he still believed that reviving the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement was the best way to constrain Iran's nuclear program.
Under the deal, Iran had limited its nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions.
"I'm not convinced we're going to get there … I don't think the Supreme Leader of Iran wants to cut a deal," Moore told the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
Still, Moore cautioned: "The Iranians won't want to end the talks either so they could run on for a bit."
Since former President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the deal and re-imposed sanctions against Tehran in 2018, Iran has breached many of the deal's limits on its nuclear activities. It is enriching uranium to close to weapons-grade.
Western powers warn Iran is getting closer to being able to sprint towards making a nuclear bomb. Iran denies they want to do that.
US President Joe Biden's administration has sought to revive the agreement. But US, British and French diplomats have all placed the onus on Iran for the failure to bring back the nuclear agreement after more than a year of negotiations.
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