The US is pursuing other ways to halt Iran’s drive toward building a nuclear weapon amid a growing belief that talks on the issue will fail.
Negotiations resumed in Vienna last week to try to revive the 2015 deal between Iran and world powers.
The US withdrew from the deal under Donald Trump in 2018, and Iran responded by enriching uranium to levels prohibited under the agreement.
“We continue in this hour, on this day, to pursue diplomacy because it remains at this moment the best option, but we are actively engaging with allies and partners on alternatives,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.
US President Joe Biden has said he is ready to return to the agreement and Iranian officials maintain they are serious about the talks.
But Tehran has been accused of backsliding on progress made earlier this year and playing for time.
