Head of Iranian Delegation Says Progress Made in JCPOA Talks in Vienna

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani said that progress was made on the issue of lifting sanctions on Tehran during the first days of the eighth round of Vienna talks on the return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Actions (JCPOA), Iranian state media IRNA reported on Thursday.

The eighth round of talks on the return to the JCPOA began at Vienna's Palais Coburg hotel on Monday.

Bagheri Kani reportedly stressed that almost all participants of the negotiations agreed on the need to remove sanctions against Iran. The deputy minister also noted that the issue will be further discussed during expert meetings, and meetings between Iran and the P4+1 group, which includes China, Russia, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, the news agency said.

Delegations of the countries now plan to consider conditions for lifting the sanctions and verification of their removal, Bagheri Kani said, as cited by IRNA.

The deputy minister reportedly expressed the hope that the parties will soon continue to work on the issue more seriously.

In May 2018, the United States withdrew from the JCPOA, which was signed by Iran, the United States, China, France, Russia, the UK, Germany and the EU in 2015. Thereafter, the US enacted hardline policies against Iran, prompting the latter to largely abandon its own obligations.

The seventh round of Vienna talks on bringing Iran back to the nuclear deal and lifting US sanctions ended on December 17. The parties agreed on two drafts of the deal, which included provisions covering Iranian interests.