France's ambassador to the UN said on Tuesday that the door to resuscitating the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is still open, but we are quickly approaching the end of the road to revive a pact that is being damaged by Iran's nuclear advances.
According to Nicolas de Riviere, we are nearing the point where Iran's nuclear program will have completely hollowed out the JCPOA, referring to Iran's 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action deal with six powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.
Iran has to choose between the collapse of the JCPOA and a fair and comprehensive deal. He said that Iran's continued nuclear escalation means that we are rapidly reaching the end of the road, flanked by the U.N. ambassadors from Britain and Germany, a group known as the E 3.
He added that Iran's nuclear program has never been more advanced than it is today. This nuclear escalation is a danger for international peace and security and the global non-proliferation system. Under the 2015 deal, Iran limited its nuclear program - which the West feared would be used to develop weapons, something Tehran denies - in exchange for relief from U.S. European Union and U.N. sanctions.
President Donald Trump reimposed U.S. sanctions, prompting Iran to begin violating its nuclear restrictions a year later.
Indirect talks to salvage the deal are now underway in Vienna between Iran and the United States, in which officials from both sides are shuttled between the two sides because Tehran doesn't have direct contact with U.S. officials.