U.S. says will take a few days to judge Iran stance in nuclear talks

(WASHINGTON Reuters) - It will take a few days to judge whether Iran is showing flexibility in talks about Tehran and Washington resuming compliance with the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Thursday.

“It will probably (be) another couple of days until we have sense of where the Iranians are in the context of the restart of this round and ... the flexibility that they may or may not be willing to show,” Price said.

Asked if Iran might be playing for time in the talks and seeking to exploit U.S. weakness, he said: “I can assure you that if the Iranian regime suspects the United States of weakness, they will be sorely surprised.”

Price sought to deflect criticism that Iran has been stringing the major powers along in the negotiations while making advances to its nuclear program.