The eighth round of talks in Vienna over a revival of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal will resume on Tuesday, said the EU, which is co-ordinating the negotiations.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s envoy to the talks, said they appeared to be “at the final stage” and required “determination and energetic efforts” to reach the end stage and restore the deal Tehran signed with world powers.
The negotiations had paused for just over a week as envoys returned to their capitals for consultations.
The US signed off on some sanctions waivers last week, which will exempt foreign countries and firms that work in Iran’s civilian nuclear sector from penalties from Washington. The US said the sanctions waivers were not a sign that a full agreement was in reach.
But Tehran, which described the move as “good but insufficient,” has been clear where it stands.
“The issue of removal of sanctions and Iran benefiting from it is Iran's red line in the talks,” Saeed Khatibzadeh, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, said.
“Washington has decided to take a step which has no impact on Iran's economic situation. A responsible [US]) government should return to the deal and fulfil its obligations,” he added.
Mr Khatibzadeh said on Monday that there had been “considerable advances in different areas of the negotiations, including ideas on guarantees that have been raised and written down”.
“Today the framework and the textual outlook of an agreement are completely clear,” he said.
US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed heavy economic sanction on Iran. Under the deal, Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear programme in exchange for the removal of international sanctions. But since the US withdrawal, Tehran has repeatedly breached the terms of the 2015 agreement and the prospect of a new deal remain in the balance.
