EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says he is less optimistic about reaching an agreement on a revival of the Iran nuclear deal than he was only a short while ago.
"I am sorry to say that I am less confident today than 28 hours before...about the prospects of closing the deal right now," he told reporters in Brussels on September 5.
Borrell's spokesman said on September 2 that he received Iran’s response regarding a possible revival of the deal and sent it along to other members of the original accord.
Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States signed the accord with Tehran in 2015. The agreement gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said earlier on September 5 that Tehran hoped to see U.S. sanctions eased or lifted to allow it to sell natural gas to Europe.
"Given Europe's energy supply problems triggered by the Ukraine crisis, Iran could provide Europe's energy needs if sanctions against it are lifted," Kanani said.
"We hope an agreement will be reached to let Iran play a more efficient role, with the aim of providing the energy needed for countries around the world and for European countries," he told a weekly news conference.
Iran has the world's second-largest natural-gas reserves after Russia but lacks the infrastructure to increase exports, which are currently limited to Iraq and Turkey.