Iranian official dismisses 'premature' reports on success of nuclear talks

Iran has dismissed "premature" reports that the Vienna talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal have concluded successfully, a foreign ministry spokesperson has said.

"Nobody can say the deal is done, until all the outstanding remaining issues are resolved," Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a tweet on Thursday, adding that "extra efforts" have yet to be made, and that all sides are "now focused on the final critical steps".

His comments came after an advisor to the Iranian negotiating team in Vienna talks Mostafa Khoshcheshm tweeted that there were "several indications" that the US has accepted Iran's terms to reach an agreement in Vienna.

"There are now even stronger indications that the Ukrainian crisis has forced West to retreat in Vienna talks as several EU states have started demanding sanctioned for crude even before end of talks," Mostafa Khoshcheshem, one of the advisors to Iranian negotiating teams in Vienna said in a tweet.

Also on Thursday, the UK's negotiator in the Vienna, Stephanie Al-Qaq, tweeted in Farsi, saying that negotiators "are very close to an agreement" and now they should take "only a few final steps".

#ViennaTalks still continue.

Premature good news does not substitute good agreement.

Nobody can say the deal is done, until all the outstanding remaining issues are resolved. Extra efforts needed.

Everybody is now focused on the final critical steps.

— Saeed Khatibzadeh | سعید خطیب‌زاده (@SKhatibzadeh) March 3, 2022

Earlier on Thursday, the US also said that "a possible deal" on a new Iranian nuclear accord was close but several sticking points have prevented an agreement and time is running out.

Negotiators meeting in Vienna to try and salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, which is meant to prevent Tehran from acquiring an atomic bomb, have made "significant progress," State Department deputy spokeswoman Jalina Porter told reporters.

"We are close to a possible deal, but a number of difficult issues still remain unsolved," she said.

"We will not have a deal unless we resolve quickly the remaining issues," she added.

However, "if Iran shows seriousness, we can and should reach an understanding of mutual return to full implementation of the JCPOA within days," she said, using the acronym for the 2015 accord.

'Final stages'

Enrique Mora, the European Union's coordinator for the talks, said the negotiations were in the "final stages."

"Some relevant issues are still open and success is never guaranteed," he tweeted, adding "we are definitely not there yet."

The so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed in 2015, secured sanctions relief for Iran in return for strict curbs on its nuclear program.

The agreement was between Iran on one side and Germany, China, the United States, France, Britain and Russia on the other.

The agreement unraveled when former US president Donald Trump withdrew from it, with Israeli encouragement, in 2018.