French Foreign Minister Says Confident Iran Nuclear Deal Is Near

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Monday that a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers was near even though a few items remain to be settled.

"We are near an agreement," Le Drian said at a news conference in Doha.

France is one the original signatories of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran known as JCPOA, along with the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia and China. The United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018.

Le Drian's comments came in contrast to a bleaker assessment of the Iran nuclear situation offered by the United States on Sunday.

On Sunday, US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley said he was not confident that a nuclear deal between world powers and the Islamic Republic was imminent, dampening expectations after 11 months of talks in Vienna that have stalled.

One of the last major issues remaining in the negotiations is Iran’s demand from the United States to lift terrorism sanctions imposed on the Revolutionary Guard by former president Donald Trump’s administrations. The Biden Administration is apparently trying to find a compromise on the issue, a move that has met with strong criticism domestically and by its allies in the region.

With reporting by Reuters