Iran nuclear deal 'in sight' as talks resume in Vienna

Talks to revive a deal with Iran on its contested nuclear programme have resumed in Vienna after officials signalled an agreement was "in sight".

A source close to the discussions told the AFP news agency on Tuesday that the delegations had arrived in the Austrian capital.

AFP journalists saw Tehran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani enter Palais Coburg, a luxury hotel where the talks are taking place, for a meeting with EU official Enrique Mora, who chairs the discussions.

The talks' coordinator, Enrique Mora, declined to comment to reporters as he crossed the road between two luxury hotels hosting negotiations on a blustery day in Vienna, where the negotiations began 10 months ago. 

"After a short break, 8th round of #ViennaTalks is resumed," Iran's mission to the United Nations in Vienna said on Twitter, with a picture of Bagheri Kani meeting Mora.

The negotiations –– attended by Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia and indirectly the United States –– were halted at the end of last month for diplomats to return to their capitals to get further instructions.

The resumption comes after parties in recent weeks cited progress in seeking to revive the 2015 accord that was supposed to prevent Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb, a goal it has always denied pursuing.

READ MORE: Top envoys head home for parleys as Iran nuclear talks reach critical stage

Return to JCPOA

"A deal that addresses all sides' core concerns is in sight, but if it is not reached in the coming weeks, Iran's ongoing nuclear advances will make it impossible for us to return to the JCPOA," a US State Department spokesperson said on Monday, referring to the 2015 framework agreement.

Speaking in Washington DC, the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said: "There is a US offer, there is a counter-offer.

"I don't know if it's going to be one week, two weeks, three weeks, but certainly we are in the last steps of the negotiation."

Borrell said reaching an agreement on the lifting of sanctions and the rollback of Iran's nuclear activities was "the most important problem" but that he was hopeful of a breakthrough "because both sides have been showing willingness."

The US, under former President Donald Trump, unilaterally withdrew from the pact in 2018 and reimposed tough economic sanctions on Iran, prompting the Islamic republic to begin pulling back from its commitments under the deal and step up its nuclear activities.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that answers that "the United States brings... to Vienna will determine when we can reach an agreement".

"We have made significant progress in various areas of the Vienna negotiations", including on guarantees sought by Iran that the United States would not breach the deal once again, Khatibzadeh told reporters.

READ MORE: Iran: Removal of US sanctions is our 'red line' for nuclear deal revival

Russia says draft of final document ready 

Washington has sought direct negotiations but said talks remain indirect at Iran's request. Parties have been negotiating in Vienna since last year.

Russian negotiator Mikhail Ulyanov said in an interview to the Russian newspaper Kommersant that parties were "five minutes away from the finish line".

"A draft of the final document has been crafted. There are several points there that need more work, but that document is already on the table," he said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it "the decisive moment" in an interview with the Washington Post published on Monday.

On Friday, Washington made a gesture by announcing it was waiving sanctions on Iran's civil nuclear programme, a technical step necessary to return to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

The waiver allows other countries and companies to participate in Iran's civil nuclear programme without triggering US sanctions, in the name of promoting safety and non-proliferation.

READ MORE: US: Only a few weeks left to save Iran nuclear deal