Vienna talks 'close to reaching a deal' though some issues yet to be resolved: Iranian official

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that the Vienna negotiations over his country's nuclear deal seem to be nearing their end.

According to a post on his private channel on Telegram, Khatibzadeh said some issues remained unsolved, but that the weight of the issues that have been resolved outweigh those that have not.

"We have come a long way so far, but the remaining distance… is not easy," he said, expressing hope that the "other parties will take their decisions to reach an agreement that is required for all."

He said that other parties involved in the negotiations also acknowledge that progress has been made.

Khatibzadeh confirmed that the Iranians unanimously agree that US sanctions must be lifted first and in an effective manner, stressing that "Iran will resume all its commitments once the entire nuclear agreement is implemented and verified."

He added that any US demands outside the Vienna talks have nothing to do with the deal.

The ministry spokesman had previously said that while his country was not in a hurry to reach an agreement with the US on the nuclear deal, Tehran would not allow the talks to be drawn out.

The Iran nuclear accord, signed in 2015, was thrown into peril when former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal and reimposed crushing economic sanctions on Iran. Tehran has since taken several steps back from its commitments to the deal.

Iran and the US are speaking indirectly at the Vienna talks, which also include the UK, France, Germany, Russia and China.