US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said there has been little progress regarding peace talks in Iran.
“Right now it hasn’t been very productive, because the Iranian demands are simply not just unacceptable but, in some cases, outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic,” he told reporters.
“You have a number of countries that continue to engage them with different ideas. But I wouldn’t say we’re on the verge of a breakthrough.”
He said US President Donald Trump would prefer to resolve issues diplomatically.
“Sometimes that’s not possible, unfortunately. But if there’s a chance to do it, we’ll explore it.”
Trump told US broadcaster CNN earlier on Sunday that renewed strikes on Iran were “highly unlikely” if talks progressed.
It was widely speculated that Trump might resume the war against Iran after the US midterm elections, where his Republican Party lost control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Trump has repeatedly said the war, launched by the US and Israel in February, is to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Trump is expected to meet with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Washington on Monday. Qatar is considered a central mediator state in the conflict between the US and Iran.