In this photo released on Aug 11, 2022 by the Iranian foreign ministry, ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani speaks in Tehran, Iran. (IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY VIA AP)

DUBAI - Iran accused the United States on Monday of procrastinating in indirect talks aimed at reinstating Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal, and said a prisoner swap with Washington was not linked to the negotiations.

After 16 months of fitful, indirect US-Iranian talks, with European Union officials shuttling between the sides, a senior EU official said on Aug 8 it had laid down a final offer and expected a response within a "very, very few weeks."

READ MORE: EU proposes 'final text' for reviving Iran nuclear deal

Iran last week responded to the EU's text with "additional views and considerations", while calling on Washington to show flexibility to resolve three remaining issues.

The Americans are procrastinating and there is inaction from the European sides...America and Europe need an agreement more than Iran.

Nasser Kanaani, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson

The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said on Monday he hoped the United States would respond positively as early as this week to the bloc's proposal. Tehran had given a "reasonable" response to it, he said. 

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, said Tehran wanted a sustainable deal that would preserve Tehran's legitimate rights.

"The Americans are procrastinating and there is inaction from the European sides...America and Europe need an agreement more than Iran," Kanaani told a news conference.

"Until we agree on all issues, we cannot say that we have reached a complete agreement."

The United States has repeatedly called on Tehran to release several Iranian-Americans held in Iran on security charges. Iran has demanded several Iranians detained on charges linked to US sanctions to be freed.

"We emphasize that the exchange of prisoners with Washington is a separate issue and it has nothing to do with the process of negotiations to revive the 2015 pact," Kanaani said, adding that Tehran was ready to swap prisoners.

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In 2018, then-US president Donald Trump reneged on the deal reached before he took office, calling it too soft on Iran, and reimposed harsh US sanctions, prompting Tehran to begin breaching the pact's nuclear curbs.

"We seek a good agreement which would guarantee Iran's national interests and would be long-lasting...We won't be bitten twice," Kanaani said.

The 2015 agreement appeared on the verge of revival in March after 11 months of indirect talks between Tehran and US President Joe Biden's administration in Vienna.

But talks broke down over obstacles such as Tehran's demand that Washington provide guarantees that no US president would abandon the deal as Trump did.

However, Biden cannot provide such ironclad assurances because the deal is a political understanding rather than a legally binding treaty.