German Foreign Ministry Spokesman Martin Schaefer said his government “is still hopeful” that a lasting nuclear accord with Iran could be reached by the November 24 deadline.

“We are very much hopeful that an agreement could be reached within the next five weeks with Iran,” Schaefer told reporters on Friday.

The German foreign minister spokesman underlined his country’s firm determination to reach a final deal with Iran.

He urged all sides to show flexibility in their positions in a bid to ink a deal as there was still some time left until November 24.

Iran and the six major world powers ended their 8th round of nuclear negotiations in Vienna on Thursday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton presided over the 8th round of the talks between Tehran and P5+1 in the Austrian capital.

The 7th round of talks was held in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting last month.

“We are trying hard to make progress and remain fully engaged to achieve a comprehensive solution” by the November 24 deadline, Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said in a Thursday statement after high-level negotiations between the two sides in Vienna.

“Diplomatic efforts to find a resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue are now in a critical phase,” the statement added.

Sources close to the Iranian negotiating team say the main stumbling block in the way of resolving Western disputes over Iran’s nuclear program remains to be the removal of all sanctions and not the number of centrifuges or the level of enrichment.

Tehran wants sanctions entirely lifted while the US, under pressure from the pro-Israeli lobby, insists that at least the UN-imposed sanctions against Iran should remain in place.

Iran and the six powers – the United States, France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany – are in talks to work out a final deal aimed at ending the longstanding dispute over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.

Last November, the two sides clinched an interim nuclear accord, which took effect on January 20 and expired six months later. However, they agreed to extend their talks until November 24 as they remained divided on a number of key issues.

Rosatom’s Communications Department announced on Thursday that Nikolaï Spasski, the deputy director general for international affairs at Rosatom, met with Spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi in Tehran on October 15, Ria Novosti reported.

“The parties discussed the current state as well as the prospects of nuclear cooperation between the two countries,” Rosatom added.

Last month, Kamalvandi said Tehran and Moscow were “close to reaching final agreements on the construction of two power plants” in Iran’s southern province of Bushehr before the end of the current Persian calendar year (20 March 2015).

In September 2013, Iran officially took over from Russia the first unit of its first 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in Bushehr for two years.

The initial construction of the Bushehr facility began in 1975 by German companies, but the work was halted following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

After signing a deal on the construction of nuclear plants in 1992, Iran and Russia reached an agreement in 1995 to complete the Bushehr plant.

Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian said on September 14 that Russia plans to build eight power plants in three Iranian cities.

Four plants will be built in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, two in the eastern city of Tabas, and two in the northwestern city of Sahand, according to the Iranian minister.

On September 9, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in Tehran that Iran and Russia had signed projects worth 70 billion euros to develop trade and economic ties.

“Since the talks with the P5+1 (group of world powers) are likely to result in either agreement, extension or deadlock, the necessary strategies have been designed and we have plans for every one of them,” the head of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry’s Center for Strategic Studies said at a Thursday ceremony.

Iran and the six powers – the United States, France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany – are in talks to work out a final deal aimed at ending the longstanding dispute over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.

Last November, the two sides clinched an interim nuclear accord, which took effect on January 20 and expired six months later. However, they agreed to extend their talks until November 24 as they remained divided on a number of key issues.

The Iranian intelligence official pointed to the ongoing developments across the Middle East, including the ISIL threat in Iraq and Syria and noted that the recent regional events are a scenario aimed at ostracizing Iran which is the “indisputable” regional power.

“The US has realized that [after] the occupation of Iraq [in 2003] and Afghanistan [in 2001], Iran has been the real winner of these wars,” he added.

“We are witnessing the formation of a new order in the region which, God willing, will lead to the triumph of the discourse of the [1979] Islamic Revolution,” the intelligence official pointed out.

The ISIL Takfiri terrorists, who currently control parts of Syria and Iraq, have committed widespread acts of violence, including mass executions, abductions, torture and forcing women into slavery in the areas they have seized in the two countries.

They have threatened all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians, Izadi Kurds and others, as they continue their atrocities in Iraq and Syria.

Representatives of Iran and the six states – Russia, China, France, Britain, the US and Germany – held their eighth round of negotiations this year on Tehran’s nuclear energy program in Austrian capital on Thursday.

The talks were led by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.

Following the discussions, Iranian negotiators held an expert-level meeting with their counterparts from France, Britain and Germany in the Austrian city.

Moreover, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, also a top nuclear negotiator, held separate talks with senior Chinese and Russian negotiators.

The Thursday talks came a day after closed-door trilateral discussions between Zarif, Ashton and US Secretary of State John Kerry in the Austrian capital.

The Iranian foreign minister said on Thursday that he will sit down for another trilateral meeting with Ashton and Kerry in a city other than Vienna within the next three or four weeks.

Iran and the six countries, also known as the P5+1 group, are currently in talks to sort out their differences and reach a comprehensive agreement aimed at ending the longstanding dispute over Iran’s civilian nuclear activities as a November 24 deadline approaches.

Last November, the two sides clinched an interim nuclear deal, which took effect on January 20 and expired six months later. However, they agreed to extend their talks until November 24, as they remained split on a number of key issues.

Zarif made the remarks following a six-hour long trilateral meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and US Secretary of State John Kerry in the Austrian capital, Vienna.

Zarif, who heads the Iranian negotiating team in nuclear talks with the six countries, also described the trilateral talks as “very difficult”, but said progress was made and possible solutions discussed.

“It was very difficult, serious and intensive … but instead of focusing on problems, we discussed solutions as well,” Zarif said. “There was progress in all the fields.”

Zarif also told online news site al-Monitor that the gaps were “narrowing, but we still have a long way to go.”

“It is reconcilable, provided everyone makes the tough decisions,” he said.

Tehran and the six major world powers – the United States, France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany – have started a fresh round of negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear energy program in Vienna on Thursday.

Zarif and Ashton jointly lead the negotiations, which will center on outstanding issues related to Tehran’s nuclear program.

Iran and its negotiating partners are currently working to reach a final agreement aimed at ending the longstanding dispute over Tehran’s civilian nuclear work as a November 24 deadline approaches.

Last November, the two sides clinched an interim nuclear accord, which took effect on January 20 and expired six months later. However, they agreed to extend their talks until November 24, as they remained split on a number of key issues.