<span>US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday questioned Iran’s willingness to return to compliance with the nuclear deal, after weeks of slow-moving talks in Vienna.</span> <span>Indirect talks with Iran have "clarified what each side needs to do in order to come back into compliance", Mr Blinken told ABC's</span><span><em> This Week with George Stephanopoulos.</em></span> <span>“We know what sanctions would need to be lifted if they’re inconsistent with the nuclear agreement,” he said. </span> <span>“But as important, and indeed more important, Iran – I think – knows what it needs to do to come back into compliance on the nuclear side. And what we haven’t seen is whether Iran is ready and willing to make a decision to do what it has to do. That’s the test and we don’t yet have an answer.”</span> <span>Mr Blinken spoke as Iran’s three-month deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency expired. The agreement, brokered in February, allowed the watchdog’s inspectors access to surveillance footage of Iranian nuclear sites.</span> <span>Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Qalibaf said yesterday that the inspectors would no longer have access to the surveillance footage.</span> <span>Mr Blinken repeated that the Biden administration wanted </span><span>to revive the nuclear deal before addressing issues such as Tehran's funding of proxies across the Middle East.</span> <span>"The first thing we need to do is put the nuclear problem back in the box," Mr Blinken said. </span><span>"That's why we're committed to trying to see if Iran will come back into compliance with the nuclear agreement."</span> <span>Mr Blinken vowed the Biden administration would use a revived nuclear deal “as a platform to build on and to try to deal with these other issues”.</span> <span>Since former president Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018, Iran has gradually scaled up its breaches of the agreement.</span> <span>As officials get ready to convene in Vienna this week for the latest round of talks, Mr Blinken is expected to visit the Middle East after the Egypt-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas last week.</span> <span>"We have to deal with making this turn from the violence – we have got the ceasefire – and now deal with the humanitarian situation, deal with reconstruction and deepen our existing engagement with Palestinians and with Israelis alike,</span><span>" he said.</span>
