US Secretary of State Antony Blinken: AFP

The US Secretary of State said in a press conference in Paris on Friday Tehran and Washington still have significant differences.

Iran PressEurope: "We still have significant differences with Iran," Blinken said, adding that he hoped a resumption of talks in the coming days could resolve them. 

"We are only going to reach an agreement with Iran if it honors its obligations under the JCPOA, and we are just not there yet," he added.

Antony Blinken made the remarks hours before the head of the IAEA was expected to renew its board of governors on whether it had reached a deal to extend the monitoring agreement, which ended on June 24.

If Tehran fails to extend a monitoring agreement with the UN nuclear watchdog that lapsed this week would be a "serious concern" in talks to restore its nuclear deal with world powers, Blinken stressed. 

Since April, Iran has been in talks with world powers about reviving the 2015 deal under which it agreed to limit its nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions. The Vienna talks are now in a pause expected to last until next week.

The United States abandoned the deal under then-President Donald Trump in 2018, and Iran responded by scaling back its obligations under the deal. Joe Biden's new administration wants to revive the accord, but Tehran and Washington have yet to agree which side should take what steps and when.

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