The US policy of maximum economic pressure on Tehran is working but the sanctions do not give Iran the right to breach its nuclear commitments, US Special Representative on Iran Brian Hook said on Monday.
Hook was speaking in an interview before a meeting with senior French, British and German diplomats in Paris to convince them that the Trump administration's policy of crippling sanctions was the best way to get Iran back to the negotiating table.
"We are dedicated to this policy of maximum economic pressure because it is working, it is denying the regime historic levels of revenue," Hook told Reuters.
The meeting also comes with Iran on course to reach that limit of the maximum amount of enriched uranium it is allowed to have under a 2015 nuclear deal that includes the three European powers, Russia and China.
When asked about Iran possibly breaching those restrictions, Hook said it was clear there would be consequences and that despite the US pullout from the accord in 2018 and subsequent sanctions, it was not an excuse to violate the accord.
"Our sanctions do not give Iran the right to accelerate its nuclear program. It can never get near a nuclear bomb. We are looking very closely at that so it doesn't get below the one year nuclear break-out time."
Hook said he would share his views in Paris on Iran's "nuclear blackmail."
The deal is meant to extend the time Iran would need to make an atomic bomb, if it chose to, to a year from some 2-3 months.
Hook also told The Associated Press that Washington does not want a full-blown war with Iran, although it still is seeking to build up international defenses in the region just in case of a conflict.
War with Iran is "not necessary," Hook said in the interview.
"We are not looking for any conflict in the region," he said. But if the US is attacked, "we will respond with military force."
