In a first official reaction to the forming deal between Iran and the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, U.S. officials made it clear Tuesday that while the reported agreement was a positive sign, it did not mean Washington intendes to let up its pressure on the Islamic Republic over its continues nuclear program.
Referring to the reported IAEA-Iran deal, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: "Obviously, we fully support IAEA efforts to try to resolve the outstanding issues," adding that it was the administration's "understanding is that they are still working on the precise terms."
However, Nuland made it clear that "the announcement of the deal is one thing, but the implementation is what we're going to be looking for, for Iran to truly follow through and provide the access to all of the locations, the documents and the personnel that the IAEA requires in order to determine whether Iran's program is exclusively for peaceful purposes."
The State Department official added that the U.S. was "looking for Iran to demonstrate unequivocally that its program is peaceful. There are separate but linked tracks for doing that."
"One is to do what the IAEA needs, to demonstrate it has seen all the locations and all of the documents. The other is to work with the EU three plus three on concrete steps to give more reassurance of the kind that we're seeking," Nuland added.
Nuland said that she didn’t think "we see them as part and parcel of the effort that we're looking for on the part of Iran," adding that the Iranian regime needs to provide results on both the IAEA track - and the Baghdad talks.
Honing in on the burgeoning deal, the U.S. official said that what "the IAEA is involved in is verifying, on behalf of the international community, that the things that Iran is saying are true, are actually true. So in the context of any kind of an understanding that might be reached in the EU three plus three context, you would still want the IAEA to be able to verify the implementation of all of those things."
Also commenting on news of an upcoming deal, U.S. President Barack Obama's former senior advisor Dennis Ross, currently a counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, indicated that the negotiations taking place are designed to maintain pressure on Iranians, as opposed to letting it up.
"It sends them a message that they can't play for time - the Iranians shouldn't have any illusions they can do minimum and get maximum in return," he said, adding however that he didn't believe talks in Baghdad mark a "make or break" moment.
"It's unrealistic to see breakthrough at this point after only two rounds of talks, the process has to be much more continuous", he said, adding: "There has to be indication on substance or the nature of the process. Since the window of opportunity won't be open forever, the sooner we understand what kind of process we are in, the better. Suspension of enrichment is something that stops the clock and provides space and time to tackle the issue of the nuclear program. Another track could be changing the character of the program - having nuclear civil power will require firewalls that will ensure it cannot be translated to nuclear weapons capability."
Ross said the Obama administration's position is not to accept limited enrichment - but he also rejected the notion of the need to provide clear red line. "One has to be careful about the red lines - because historically others think everything is allowed up to the red line", he said.
He added that the US administration stays in close contact with Israeli leadership on this matter. "It's no coincidence [Israel's Defense Minister Ehud] Barak came to visit Washington last week. I am sure the goal of this visit was to be a part of this discussion. Israeli positions have some impact on ours and there is no intention to surprise."
Also on Tuesday, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, commended the Senate's Monday approval of Iran sanctions echoing the skepticism expressed by the Israeli leadership ahead of the Baghdad meeting.
"I am deeply concerned that the so-called agreement reached between Iran and the IAEA will only be used as yet another stalling tactic to afford the Iranian regime greater time to acquire nuclear weapons capabilities", she said, adding: "It's deja vu all over again."
Ros-Lehtinen said that it had been "ten years since Iran's covert nuclear program was discovered by the IAEA after decades had gone by when the regime successfully hid its nuclear activities from the world."
"It has been ten years of manipulation by Tehran of international inspections. And for decades, the regime has ignored its international obligations. Yet, the IAEA seems content to give Iran a pass in exchange for yet more empty promises. Fortunately, Congress has not bought into this dangerous and foolhardy approach. I am gratified that the Senate finally passed its Iran sanctions legislation, although I am concerned that the legislation is not strong enough," she added.

By Natasha Mozgovaya