A senior US official told American Jewish leaders that sanctions will not be lifted on Iran until Washington gets clear commitments about Tehran’s return to the nuclear deal.

“The Forward” magazine, which specializes in reporting news of the Jewish community in the United States, quoted Brett McGurk, the US National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, as saying that the United States will not lift sanctions on Iran “unless there is a full commitment to the nuclear agreement.”

McGurk said during a remote meeting with a number of leaders of the Jewish community in the United States, according to the people who participated in the meeting.

McGurk added that “the road is still very long and complicated before reaching an agreement with Tehran,” despite the resumption of talks on the nuclear deal in Vienna during the past few weeks.

The US official stressed that the United States “will not pay anything in advance just to start practical talks.”

Israel is concerned that the United States is moving toward a return to the nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

On Sunday, the Israeli Chief of Staff, Aviv Kochavi, will visit the United States to discuss the threats posed by the Iranian nuclear program.

It is also expected that senior Israeli officials will travel to Washington in the coming weeks to discuss the Iranian file.

Vienna is hosting talks between Tehran and the major powers, aiming to find ways to return the United States to the nuclear deal and lift sanctions imposed by the previous administration of President Donald Trump on Tehran after its unilateral withdrawal from this agreement in 2018.