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Added on the 09/06/2022 17:34:56 - Copyright : France 24 EN
The White House denies that the unfreezing of $6 billion of Iranian funds to help secure the release of five US citizens was effectively a ransom payment. "This is not a payment of any kind. It's not ransom," says White House national security spokesman John Kirby, pushing back against criticism of the deal. SOUNDBITE
Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that the United States will offer no sanctions relief to Iran under a draft deal that would free five Americans. "In any event, in any respect, Iran will not be receiving any sanctions relief," Blinken tells reporters when asked about the expected release of $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds. SOUNDBITE
Iran has agreed to reconnect surveillance cameras at several nuclear sites and increase the pace of inspections, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says. "There was a reduction in monitoring activities related to cameras and monitoring systems," Rafael Grossi tells reporters at Vienna airport after returning from Tehran. "We have agreed that both will be operating again." SOUNDBITE
The EU's foreign policy chief says he is hopeful the Iran nuclear deal could be revived after receiving "reasonable" responses to his proposed text from Iran and the United States. "I am hoping that in the coming days we are not going to lose this momentum and we can close the deal" says Josep Borrell, at an informal meeing of EU foreign ministers in Prague. SOUNDBITE
The EU says "everybody is studying the response and this is not the time, for the moment, to speculate on timing", as it mulls Iran's reponse to a "final" draft agreement on reviving a 2015 nuclear accord with major powers it presented at talks in Vienna. SOUNDBITE
Iran is removing 27 surveillance cameras at nuclear facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi says, calling it a "serious challenge" to the agency's work in the country. SOUNDBITE