France said on Monday it was "critical" that negotiators trying to restore a 2015 deal over Iran's nuclear programme reach agreement this week.

All sides have signalled progress in the talks being held in Vienna, but Iran has said that the West still needs to decide on some key issues.

"There is a critical urgency to conclude the negotiations this week," a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.

Parties to the 2015 deal saw it as the best way to stop the Islamic republic from building a nuclear bomb -- a goal Tehran has always denied.

Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri has returned to Vienna after going home last Wednesday for consultations, during which talks continued at the level of experts in Vienna.

The negotiations to revive the deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), involve Iran as well as France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China directly, and the United States indirectly.

The 2015 agreement gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, but the US unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump who reimposed heavy economic sanctions.

That prompted Iran to begin rolling back on its own commitments.

During the Vienna talks, Iran has repeatedly called for guarantees from the US administration of President Joe Biden that there will be no repeat of Trump's pullout.

State Department Spokesman Ned Price said Monday that the talks are at a "decisive consequential moment" and that the United States wants to see "additional clarity in the coming days" on Tehran's position.

Price noted that Iran's nuclear advances could soon render "meaningless" key benefits of the JCPOA.

"We are prepared to walk away if Iran displays intransigence to making progress," he said, noting that the US and allies have a Plan B readied if the talks fail.

Iran says awaits West's 'political decisions' in nuclear talks
Tehran (AFP) Feb 28, 2022 - Western parties have yet to make "political decisions" to conclude talks aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran said Monday after its chief negotiator returned to Vienna.

All sides to the negotiations have signalled progress in the talks being held in the Austrian capital, but add that they are at a critical stage.

Iran has repeatedly emphasised the need for the West to make certain "decisions".

"Unfortunately, Western sides and the US haven't still made their political decisions on several remaining issues," Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said at his weekly press conference.

These issues are "in the fields of removal of sanctions, guarantees and some political claims about Iran's peaceful nuclear programme", he said.

Parties to the 2015 deal saw it as the best way to stop the Islamic republic from building a nuclear bomb -- a goal Tehran has always denied.

Iran has also restricted some inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog. The IAEA wants Iran to resolve questions surrounding the previous presence of nuclear material at undeclared sites but Iran is asking for this issue to be "closed."

Khatibzadeh said that, unless this dispute is settled, "we can't think of the possibility of an agreement about the return of the US to JCPOA."

He confirmed that Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri returned to Vienna on Monday. Bagheri had gone home last Wednesday for consultations, during which talks continued at the level of experts in Vienna.

The negotiations to revive the deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, involve Iran as well as France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China directly, and the United States indirectly.

The 2015 agreement gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, but the US unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump who reimposed heavy economic sanctions.

That prompted Iran to begin rolling back on its own commitments.

During the Vienna talks Iran has repeatedly called for guarantees from the US administration of President Joe Biden that there will be no repeat of Trump's pullout.

The talks continue after Russia on Thursday began its invasion of Ukraine, which has threatened to divert attention from Vienna and sap momentum built up after 10 months of on-off negotiations.

Khatibzadeh, however, said there is "no relation between the two" issues diplomatically, as "different files are being followed up in their own framework even between the countries that have difference of attitudes."

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Iran's chief nuclear negotiator returns Sunday to Vienna
Tehran (AFP) Feb 27, 2022
Iran's chief negotiator will fly back to Vienna on Sunday evening following consultations in Tehran, state media said, as talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal reached a critical stage. Ali Bagheri "will return to Vienna this evening with clear instructions to pursue the negotiations with the aim of solving problems in order to reach an agreement", IRNA news agency reported. The talks to restore the agreement, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, involve Iran as well as Brit ... read more