Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a telephone consultation with his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Albusaidi on Thursday.

The Iranian foreign minister stressed Iran’s good intention and seriousness in reaching a good and durable agreement and said, “After receiving the United States’ viewpoints, we will see if Iran’s economic benefits from the agreement as well as meeting our red lines are guaranteed, We will enter a new stage in Vienna. Until everything is agreed upon, we cannot speak with certainty about reaching a good and durable agreement.”

He also pointed to the constructive role played by Oman during the negotiations on the removal of sanctions against Iran and appreciated the neighboring country’s efforts to bring the views of the different parties closer to each other.

He further pointed to the arrest of an Iranian pilgrim during this year’s Hajj by the Saudi police and emphasized the need for his immediate release.

The Omani FM, for his part, promised to follow up on the pilgrim’s case within the framework of the friendly relations between the two countries.

Badr Albusaidi also voiced hope that “we will witness a satisfactory outcome from the Vienna talks with the through the cooperation of all parties.”

Nabila Massrali, a spokesperson for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell — who coordinated talks between Iran and the P4+1 group of countries in the Austrian capital of Vienna — made the remarks in an interview with IRNA on Tuesday.

“We are studying it and are consulting with the other JCPOA participants and the US on the way ahead,” she said.

Late on Monday, Iran said it has sent EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell its response on the proposed text of a draft agreement to restore the Iranian nuclear deal and also expressed its opinion on the remaining issues in the talks.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also said on the same day that if the US shows a realistic and flexible reaction to Iran’s offer, “we would be at the point of agreement,” adding, “The American side has orally agreed to two proposals offered by Iran.”

An adviser to the Iranian negotiating team said the parties to the JCPOA are closer to a final agreement on the deal’s revival than they have ever been.

“I can’t say that there will be a deal, but we’re closer than we’ve been before,” Mohammad Marandi, who is also vice-president for international affairs at the University of Tehran, said in a post on his Twitter account, citing remarks he made in an interview with Aljazeera Arabic.

In its response, he added, Iran “has expressed its concerns, but that the remaining issues are not very difficult to resolve.”

“Those concerns are founded upon past US/EU violations,” Marandi tweeted.

On August 8, the European Union coordinator distributed the final text of the draft agreement on the restoration of the nuclear deal. Borrell said its points should be agreed upon.

In early August, the negotiation process to restore the nuclear deal with Iran resumed in Vienna, when the heads of all the delegations arrived in the Austrian capital.

The Vienna talks resumed on August 4 after several months of impasse, and expert-level negotiations were held between Iran and the P4+1 group of countries.

Iran and the remaining parties to the JCPOA — Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany — had held several rounds of negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna since April last year to restore the agreement, which was abandoned by the former US President Donald Trump in May 2018. While the parties noted progress in multiple rounds of talks, the indecisiveness shown by Washington has prevented any significant breakthrough.

The negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran through removing US sanctions on the country have dragged on since April 2021. While the Biden administration has claimed to be ready to return to compliance with the deal which its predecessor abandoned in 2018, it has taken no practical measures to undo Washington’s past wrongs.

While the parties noted progress in multiple rounds of talks, the indecisiveness shown by the US has prevented any significant breakthrough.

The Islamic Republic, the outlet said, has clearly announced from the beginning that it will not sign a text until it is sure of an agreement on all the discussed issues that will fully secure the interests of the Iranian nation.

Last month, the negotiations were hosted in the Qatari capital of Doha in a different format, with Tehran and Washington holding indirect talks mediated by the European Union. Those talks also failed to produce any tangible result due to the excessive demands of the US.

After several months of impasse, the Vienna talks resumed on Thursday. Expert-level negotiations have been held between Iran and the P4+1 group of countries.

After 5 days of intensive negotiations among the negotiating delegations present in Vienna, Iran’s positions were shared with the other parties and relative progress has been achieved on some issues.

German, British and French delegations were not present in this round of negotiations.

European Union’s coordinator in Iran nuclear talks Enrique Mora on Monday presented new ideas about some remaining issues, whose comprehensive review by Iran and other countries requires a more detailed review in the capitals.

Earlier on Monday, an Iranian foreign ministry official dismissed a Wall Street Journal report that a text for restoring the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran had been completed and that negotiations in Vienna were finished.

“Given the continuation of discussions on several important remaining issues, we are not yet at a stage where we can talk about the finalization of the text,” the unnamed official was quoted as saying by IRNA news agency late Monday.

“The negotiating team of the Islamic Republic of Iran has presented its constructive opinions to the other side with the aim of advancing the negotiations, and the outcome of the talks depends on the will of the other side to make the necessary political decisions,” the foreign ministry official said. “We still believe that if appropriate decisions are made by the other side, the negotiations can be concluded quickly, but we are not at this stage yet.”

Some reports by Iran’s Nour News, which is close to the country’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) indicate that despite the relative progress in the remaining issues, the progress in all issues is not the same.

Although it is still not possible to talk about the results of the negotiations, the latest 5-day talks in Vienna can be evaluated as moving forward, but with a slow process.

Similar to the previous rounds of talks, as soon as there is little progress in the negotiations, the Western media release untrue news and claim that Iran has retreated from its principled positions.

In this regard, an informed official present at the Vienna negotiations told Nour News that as in the previous rounds of talks, the Iranian negotiating team is still focused on achieving a strong, stable and reliable agreement, and this path will continue until the rights of the Iranian people are fulfilled and ensuring that the US’s extravagant and illegal behavior will not be repeated.

Meanwhile, in a phone call on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell that Iran “expected that all sides show determination and seriousness to reach the final text of the agreement.”

Iran’s foreign minister said any final agreement must meet the rights and interests of the Iranian nation and guarantee sustainable and effective removal of sanctions imposed on the country.

The Russian envoy to the Vienna talks Mikhail Ulyanov also said in a tweet on Monday that the JCPOA has all reasons to survive with all respect to all nuclear deal participants but as always the devil is in the details.

Speaking in an interview with Al-Masirah, the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian emphasized Iran’s continued support for Palestine.

“The Islamic Republic will continue to support the formation of a unified state in Palestine soil, with the capital Al-Quds, Amir-Abdollahian said.

“Performing prayers in Quds is a divine promise. Resistance forces and the Palestinian people have sacrificed their lives to fulfill this divine promise,” he added.

Iranian top diplomat also emphasized, “we are sure that we will pray in Al-Quds soon.”

He also spoke about the latest development around the Vienna talks, saying, “The Vienna talks have not stopped, but continue in another process to lift the unilateral sanctions imposed on us.”

According to him, the talks are going on through the exchange of written messages with the Americans through the EU representative.

Iran’s goal in these talks is to reach a strong and lasting agreement, he also said, and called on the American side to be realistic

Saying that the American side understands Iran’s red lines very well, he added, “The lifting of sanctions in all areas and obtaining economic guarantees are among the most important issues on our negotiating agenda.”

“We are close to an agreement in the negotiations [Vienna talks] and we have conveyed our proposals on the remaining issues to the American side through the EU High Representative, and now the ball is in the US court,” said Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in his phone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday.

Guterres stressed the importance of the talks in Vienna and expressed hope that the parties would reach an agreement as soon as possible.

The two sides also discussed the latest development in Yemen, Afghanistan and Ukraine.

The UN Secretary-General congratulated the establishment of a ceasefire in Yemen and stated that the ceasefire is a joint success that has been achieved as a result of the efforts of all parties.

Iranian foreign minister also expressed satisfaction with the establishment of a ceasefire in Yemen and appreciated the role of the Secretary-General in this regard. “Now is the time to take fundamental steps towards peace and stability in Yemen, and in particular the complete lifting of humanitarian sanctions.

Amir-Abdollahian stressed the importance of sending humanitarian aid to the Yemeni people.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Wednesday held a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in China on the sidelines of the Afghanistan meeting.

Amir-Abdollahian and Qureshi discussed a number of bilateral issues of mutual interest, Ukraine crisis, the situation in Afghanistan, and the Vienna talks during the meeting.

The Iranian and Pakistani foreign ministers welcomed the development of bilateral relations and agreed to hold high-level meetings this year and hold a joint economic cooperation commission at the earliest opportunity.

They also stressed the need to implement the agreement on border markets as soon as possible.

While supporting international cooperation in helping the Afghan people, both the Iranian and Pakistani sides expressed concerns about the slow pace of decisions that would expand Afghanistan’s relations with its neighbors and improve the living conditions of its people.

They also described the deprivation of girls’ education as frustrating and said such actions had distanced the Taliban ruling body from the people and international legitimacy.

The two Iranian and Pakistani top diplomats expressed hope that the rulers of Afghanistan would pay serious attention to the real needs of the people in all political, economic and social spheres.

At the Vienna talks, the Iranian top diplomat stated that the solution to the remaining obstacles in the talks depends on the will of the American side.

Turning to the Ukraine war, Amir-Abdollahian rejected the war as a solution to the problems and explained the diplomatic efforts of Iran to prevent the war, assistance to get out of the current situation, and humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people to his Pakistani counterpart.

Qureshi, for his part, praised Iran’s efforts in making peace and providing humanitarian aid to َAfghanistan.

The Pakistani foreign minister also presented his assessments and perceptions of developments in Afghanistan to Amir-Abdollahian.

Amir-Abdollahian also met with Foreign Ministers of Qatar, Turkmenistan and Indonesia on the sidelines of the third foreign ministers meeting of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries which is taking place in Tunxi, in China on March 30-31.

Speaking in his weekly press conference, US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price answered some questions about the latest update over the sanction removal talks resumed on January 3 between Iran and the P4+1 group in Vienna.

“When it comes to Iran and negotiations in Vienna, you’ve heard us say that there has been significant progress. We remain close to a possible deal”, he said.

“It’s really down to a very small number of outstanding issues. But the reason these particular issues are outstanding is that they are among the most difficult ones. I’m reminded of a former president who had a sign on his desk saying, “Hard things are hard.” These are hard issues, and they’re outstanding for that reason”, he added.

Without referring to US hesitation and delay in reaching an agreement in sanctions removal talks, he also said, “Now is the time for all parties to show seriousness. We continue to believe that we can and should be able to reach a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA in the coming days.”

“But there is little time that remains because of the advancements that we’ve seen over the course of recent months and over the course of the past couple of years in Tehran’s nuclear program”, Ned Price claimed.

“We’ve urged all parties – and of course, that includes the Russian Federation – to focus on resolving the final remaining issues so that we can achieve our shared objective”, he also claimed.

The eighth round of nuclear talks on the removal of anti-Iranian sanctions kicked off in Austrian capital of Vienna on Monday Dec. 27, 2021 and participants have been completing the drafting text of agreement and deciding on some of the disputed issues.

A source close to the Iranian negotiating team told Iranian media that at least three key issues are remaining in the Vienna talks.

While the Vienna talks have been slow due to US reluctance to make a political decision on the remaining issues that are declared by Iran as red lines, and Western officials and the media are trying to show that Russia’s demands on the US that its sanctions not affect its relations with Tehran are to blame for the slow pace of the Vienna talks, a note published on Nournews said.

Sergey Lavrov said a few days ago on Friday that Russia demands a written guarantee from the US that its cooperation with Iran won’t be affected by sanctions imposed after the operation in Ukraine started.

The Russian demanded guarantees were taken in two different ways by media and political commentators: Some claimed that the slow pace of the Vienna talks, which are at their final stage is because Russia has recently gone under sanctions and now is putting obstacles in the way of the talks.

This is while some other media and analysts interpreted the demanded guarantees as Russia’s seriousness in the Vienna talks and a guarantee that Iran would benefit from a possible agreement.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reacted to Russia’s request by saying that the new sanctions imposed on Russia have nothing to do with the JCPOA.

Meanwhile, top Iranian security official the SNSC secretary Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani said in this regard that “The only factor influencing our interaction with the P4 + 1 countries is securing the long-term interests of the Iranian people.”

In response to Lavrov’s guarantees, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that Tehran has asked for clarification from Moscow over Lavrov’s remarks.

Moreover, the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told a meeting with the lawmakers on Monday that “We will not allow any external factor to affect our national interests in the Vienna talks.”

Furthermore, the Russian ambassador to Tehran Levan Dzhagaryan said on Monday that there has been “a misunderstanding” on his country’s foreign minister’s remarks on the need for the US to give Moscow written guarantees on its relations with Tehran.

Also, according to a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday, the Russian Foreign Minister told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call on Monday evening that “the resuscitation of the JCPOA should ensure that all its participants have equal rights regarding the unhindered development of cooperation in all areas.”

All these developments have taken place over the past few days, while the talks in Vienna are still waiting for the American political decision to remove the anti-Iran sanctions to reach a conclusion, this is while the Americans and the Western powers are trying to present Russia’s requests from the US as an obstacle to concluding an agreement in Vienna with adopting an escape forward approach.

Meanwhile, the top Iranian negotiator in Vienna talks came back to Tehran last night on a short visit within the framework of the ordinary consultations during the negotiations.

After Bagheri Kani departed for Tehran, the coordinator of the Vienna Vienna talks EU representative Enrique Mora said on Monday night that time has arrived for a political decision to end the Vienna talks. Apparently, he meant US’ political decision.

All in all, one has to wait and see until the next few days that the talks have faced “Russia’s requests” or “America’s obstacles.”

Translated by Kamal Iranidoost