US says it is working on contingency plans in case Iran continues nuclear advances and refuses to return to talks

The US is working on contingency plans if Iran continues to make nuclear advances and fails to return to international talks, a senior State Department official said Thursday, adding that as the US and allies wait for Tehran to return to nuclear talks, their patience won't last forever.

"Any government would do this," the official said, speaking Thursday on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly about making contingency plans if the nuclear deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action falls through. "We obviously have to look at what we will do if we conclude that Iran is either not interested in coming back to the JCPOA, or its nuclear advantage is such that it doesn't make sense for JCPOA to have been hollowed out."

The official said that the US and other participants in the talks prefer "to come back to the table," and added that if there is any concern about a Plan B, it's "the one that Iran, where they want to continue to build that and not be seriously engaged to return to the JCPOA."