US Officials Say They Have Three Weeks To Reach A Deal With Iran

Biden Administration officials have told CNN they have until the end of February to reach an agreement with Iran on restoring the the 2015 nuclear deal, JCPOA.

Negotiations that started ten months ago in Vienna have made little progress and US official say the current round of talks that started on Tuesday are crucial to see if an agreement is possible.

Iran left the negotiations in June for five months, saying its new president needed time to organize his government, as it continued to enrich uranium and increase leverage. US and Western diplomat began issuing warnings about time running out six months ago, but they did not set a deadline on the negotiating process.

One official speaking to CNN said, "We made progress narrowing down the list of differences to just the key priorities on all sides. And that's why now is the time for political decisions.”

They were hints that end of January would be the deadline to make a breakthrough, then mid-February was mentioned and now officials are setting end of this month as a possible cutoff date when Washington has to make a decision about continuing the talks.

US lawmakers are increasingly questioning the administration's strategy in holding talks with Iran.

CNN said that a failure to salvage JCPOA would be considered “a major blow” to President Joe Biden’s foreign policy, after the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.