Washington, Apr 2 (IANS): The US Department of State said that it welcomes the European Union (EU)-led virtual meeting between representatives of Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the UK to discuss the prospect of a possible return of Washington to the 2015 Tehran nuclear deal.

The meeting of the Joint Commission of the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), scheduled to take place on Friday, reports Xinhua news agency.

"We obviously welcome this as a positive step," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters during a press briefing on Thursday.

"We have been clear for weeks now that we are ready to pursue a return to compliance with our JCPOA commitments, consistent with Iran also doing the same," he said.

The spokesman noted that Washington talked with partners about the best way to achieve this objective, including through a series of initial mutual steps.

The holding of the meeting was announced by the EU earlier in the day.

The US and Iran are in a standoff over reviving the nuclear deal.

The Joe Biden administration said that if Iran returns to full compliance with the JCPOA, the US would do the same.

But Iran insisted its compliance would only take place once US sanctions were removed.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday however, criticised Washington for the delay in re-embracing its commitments under the deal.

"This would mean a win-win bargain for the region and the entire world, which would benefit them. The Americans were not able to understand that, and they have failed to seize this golden opportunity," Rouhani said.

Earlier this week, US media had reported that the Biden administration planned to put forth a new proposal for Tehran as soon as this week to break the deadlock.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Politico news said in a Monday report that the proposal asks Iran to halt some of its nuclear activities in exchange for some relief from US economic sanctions.

Washington withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and tightened sanctions on Iran under former President Donald Trump.

As a result, Iran has surpassed JCPOA-stipulated limits on its uranium enrichment level and on its stockpiles of heavy water and low-enriched uranium.

The Islamic Republic has also lifted JCPOA limitations on its nuclear research and development activities.