The European Union’s (EU) foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said on 5 September that he is “less optimistic” about a quick agreement to revive the Iran nuclear deal than he was a short while ago.

“I regret to say that I am less confident today than I was 28 hours ago about the prospects for agreeing now,” Borrell added in statements reported by Iranian media.

At a news conference, Borrell said that his initial “carefully balanced” text had been “well received” and that it seemed the parties were converging on a common position.

Borrell said Iran’s nuclear negotiations are deviating from harmony. However, he has continued talks with the Iranian nuclear agreement participants.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, said a nuclear agreement could be reached “if the other side shows the political will and takes constructive action.”

“Iran has announced its views in the proposed text and is waiting for the US administration’s response while ending the International Atomic Energy Agency’s investigations as part of the guarantees we seek to reach a sustainable nuclear agreement.” the Iranian spokesman explained.

On the other hand, US President Joe Biden told Israeli interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid that a revived nuclear deal with Iran would not prevent Israel from defending itself, targeting Tehran’s nuclear facilities, or tracking its affiliated groups in Syria.

At the beginning of this month, US State Department spokesman Vidant Patel confirmed that Washington had received and was studying Tehran’s response to the US proposals, but that it was “not constructive.”

In August, the EU put forward a “final text” for a renewal of the deal, to which Tehran responded last week. Borrell described the response as “reasonable.”

Israel has made strenuous efforts to persuade the US to abandon the agreement. However, it is trying not to overplay its hand, in order to avoid straining relations with Biden’s government, as Netanyahu previously did with the Obama administration during the signing of the initial agreement.