Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has denied media reports about a possible interim nuclear deal. Speaking to reporters Jan. 10, Saeed Khatibzadeh said, “We want a durable and reliable agreement and any agreement that does not have these two criteria is not on the agenda for us.”

Khatibzadeh continued, “We all have to be certain that America’s return [to the original deal] is verified and guaranteed and the cycle of sanctions have to be removed — none of these can happen with an interim agreement.” 

Arab-language newspaper Rai Al-Youm originally reported on the possibility of an interim agreement, though this is not the first time in these latest rounds of talks that reports have surfaced of its possibility. The newspaper reported that negotiators had agreed to a two-year deal as a confidence-building measure. The agreement would have reportedly had Iran send its reserve enriched uranium to Russia.

Iranian negotiators, under the new administration of Ebrahim Raisi, have rejected the possibility of an interim deal, specifically for the reasons that Khatibzadeh outlined, mainly the guarantee of sanctions removal. When the United States exited the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018 under President Donald Trump, Iran restarted and expanded its nuclear program — at first in increments as a tactic to persuade Europe to ignore US sanctions, but later as a means to strengthen its position under the Biden administration.