Iranian foreign minister says Vienna talks on ‘good path’

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks during a press conference with his Syrian counterpart in the Iranian capital Tehran on Dec 6, 2021. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister said on Tuesday that the talks in Vienna, Austria on the restoration of a 2015 nuclear deal are on a "good path."

In an address to reporters on the sidelines of a Tuesday ceremony, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that "we have a unified and joint text, on which the Iranian negotiating team is focused," Iranian Foreign Ministry reported on its website.

Iran and the five signatories started the eighth round of talks in Vienna in a bid to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which the US quitted in 2018 under former president Donald Trump who then reimposed sweeping sanctions on Iran

The Iranian top diplomat noted that the other parties to the deal are also focused on the issues "we placed in the text," which are those the sides have differences on.

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Enrique Mora, the European Union deputy foreign policy chief, has been actively making efforts to play the coordination role, Amir-Abdollahian said.

He said if the other parties, including France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany, continue the negotiations with goodwill, it will be possible to reach a good agreement in the near future.

Iran and the five signatories started the eighth round of talks in Vienna in a bid to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which the US quitted in 2018 under former president Donald Trump who then reimposed sweeping sanctions on Iran.

The US has been indirectly taking part in the Vienna talks which have been held since April.

READ MORE: US still stalling reviving of Iran deal

The 2015 nuclear deal eased the previous US sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran's curbing its nuclear program, which the US-led Western countries have suspected as an attempt to create nuclear weapons despite Iran's insistence that it is peaceful.