US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns says progress toward a comprehensive nuclear accord with Iran remains “difficult” and “uncertain”.
“But carefully testing the possibilities of diplomacy is very much in our interest,” he added. The outgoing diplomat made the remarks in an article published on the website of Foreign Policy on Thursday. He also said, “Economic and political leverage, along with a genuine offer of engagement, opened the door to back-channel talks with Iran that ended more than 35 years without sustained diplomatic contact and helped produce a first nuclear agreement,” referring to a landmark interim nuclear deal Iran and the major powers reached in Geneva last November.
