IRNA – There is no better option for resolving what the US calls concerns regarding Iran than the nuclear agreement, a former US negotiator said.

Pointing to his 15-year experience in the field of negotiation, Richard Nephew, a former official of the US State Department, emphasized that expertise, facts, evidence and data should play important roles in decision- makings.

Nephew was the sanctions expert for the US team negotiating with Iran from August 2013 to December 2014.

Speaking to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) he went on to express concern over the process through which decisions on issues like Iran agreement are being reached in the current US administration.

Iran and the major world powers- the US and the UN Security Council permanent members plus Germany- signed the nuclear deal in 2015 known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Under the agreement Iran accepted to curb its nuclear program in return of sanctions relief.

As to the concerns of European partners of the US in JCPOA about the new sanctions on Iran, he said that the Europe has two concerns, 'One, what will be the impact of the US sanction on JCPOA,' which they see much more valuable than Trump does, and 'two, what is the actual impact on European companies?'

The US Congress has recently voted for a bill of new sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea.

Experts have warned that the new non-nuclear measures may affect the implementation of JCPOA, as well as the benefits of the signatories, including the European firms that are revitalizing their business with Iran.

The Senior Research Scholar at Center on Global Energy Policy also expressed hope that Trump spends the next couple of months learning that there is not a better option than the nuclear agreement with Iran, as he confessed about Afghanistan.

According to him, the democrat senators, despite their vote to the recent US bill, including new sanctions on Iran, still believe that JCPOA deserves to be supported and implemented, but that does not mean that the US and Iran do not have other concerns and differences.

However, he sees any future negotiation with Iran during president trump administration unlikely. 'That is the real problem, and unfortunate,' the senior researcher said.