JAKARTA - The United States and Iran are not discussing a temporary nuclear deal, a country official said on Monday, but Washington had told Tehran of the steps that could trigger a crisis, as well as the steps that could create a better climate between the two long-standing rival countries.
"There is no talk of a temporary deal," the US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on June 13.
His comments were further than the US rebuttal last week, which said reports that the two countries were approaching a temporary "wrong and misleading" agreement, said such a thing was "wrong" but did not deny possible talks about the deal.
The official did not deny media reports of US-Iran contacts recently, but said their assessment of the temporary nuclear deal was inaccurate.
"We have explained to them what escalation measures they need to avoid, to prevent the crisis and what de-escalation measures they can take to create a more positive context," he said, refusing to elaborate on this, but noting Washington wanted to see greater Iranian cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog.
US and European officials have been looking for ways to curb Tehran's nuclear program, since the failure of indirect US-Iran negotiations last year to revive the 2015 Nuclear Deal between Iran and world powers, including China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain, the United States and the European Union.
Under the deal, aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Tehran is restricting its nuclear program and approving more extensive UN inspections, in exchange for easing UN, US and European Union sanctions.
Later, US President Donald Trump then left the pact in 2018 and reimposed US sanctions, so Tehran gradually moved far beyond the nuclear restrictions in the deal.
It revives US, European and Israeli concerns that Iran might make an atomic bomb. However, Tehran denied the ambition.
Although US officials refuse to elaborate further, recent US messages to Iran appear aimed at damage control.
President Biden's administration has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, underscoring all options are on the table.
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