(JNS) United States special envoy for Iran Robert Malley made “no apology” for the Biden administration’s pursuit of a revised nuclear deal with Tehran, even as he conceded that forging a new agreement was “really not our focus now.”

Speaking at an online event hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Malley said Washington was not “wasting time” on pursuing negotiations, citing the ongoing mass protests in the Islamic Republic and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“I think people have to understand that [we] were not tying our hands because of … this hope that someday maybe there’ll be a deal,” said Malley. “We are not going to focus on something that is inert when other things are happening,” he continued, referencing the demonstrations in Iran and Tehran’s decision “to get involved in a war in Europe” by transferring weapons to Russia.

“Nothing is happening on the nuclear deal, so we are not going to spend our time, waste our time on it if nothing is happening. We are going to spend our time where we can be useful,” he added.