WASHINGTON, Dec 4 Reuters -- Iran walked back any compromises it made in previous talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, pocketed all compromises made by others and asked for more during indirect U.S. Iranian talks this week, a senior State Department official said on Saturday.
Iran continues to accelerate its nuclear program in provocative ways, and China and Russia were taken aback by how far Iran has walked back its proposals in last week's talks in Vienna, an official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
On Friday, the U.S.-sponsored talks on saving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal broke off as European officials expressed dismay at the demands of Iran's new hardline government.
The seventh round of talks in Vienna is the first with delegates sent by Iran's anti-Western President Ebrahim Raisi on how to resuscitate the agreement under which Iran limited its nuclear program in exchange for economic sanctions.
Iran came with proposals that walked back anything -- any of the compromises Iran had floated here in the six rounds of talks, pocket all of the compromises that others and the U.S. had made, and then asked for more, a senior U.S. official said.
The U.S. official told reporters he did not know when the next round of talks would resume - other officials had said they would reconvene next week - and he stressed that the date was less important than Iran's willingness to negotiate seriously.