Tehran, Washington close to reaching deal on sanctions removal: Iran negotiator

“All parties to the negotiations have accepted the two draft documents that Iran submitted at the beginning of this round of talks,” said Ali Bagheri Kani in an interview with al-Jazeera.

“The reason behind a delay in clinching a deal has been the European sides’ stance on nuclear issues,” said the head of the Iranian negotiating team.

He also told Al Mayadeen that “After one week of intense talks, the 4+1 group agreed to the proposal that Iran put forward while presenting its draft documents.”

“At the moment, there are two new drafts; one about the removal of sanctions, and the other about nuclear measures,” he noted.

“The two drafts presented by Iran will be the basis of the fresh round of negotiations,” the chief negotiator explained. 

“For the eighth round of talks, we have a lot to do and have a very complicated responsibility,” he said.

Meanwhile, the European Troika announced in a statement on Friday that the breakthrough made with the talks in the past 24 hours has only brought the trend of talks closer to the point where they had been left off back in June when the previous Iranian administration was in office. 

Iran and the P4+1 group – China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany – have been negotiating in Vienna aimed at removing anti-US sanctions and the revival of the Iran nuclear deal, JCPOA. 

The negotiating delegations are expected to return to Vienna in about one week.