The parties to the Vienna talks agreed to accelerate the pace of negotiations and intensify them, and to form a third group to discuss implementation understandings, while Iran affirms its rejection of the "step for step" principle regarding the return to the nuclear agreement.

The Al-Jazeera correspondent said that the third group will discuss practical agreements to lift sanctions on Iran and the United States to return to the agreement.

In turn, the chief Iranian negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, said that they are on the right track, but that challenges and difficult details remain.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that his country would not accept any proposal on the nuclear file based on the "step for step" principle.

Zadeh added that "our position on the need to lift US sanctions has not changed, and we demand that all of them be lifted."

He stressed that there is no need for direct or indirect negotiations with Washington to return to the nuclear agreement.

The representative of the European Union, Enrique Mora, held two separate meetings with the American and Iranian delegations to discuss the full implementation of the agreement, while the Iranian, Russian and Chinese delegations held a tripartite meeting before the official meeting.

FM #Schallenberg: „Great to welcome @USEnvoyIran Rob Malley in #Vienna.

We fully support the intense diplomatic efforts to preserve the #JCPOA.

It's the best vehicle we have to prevent a nuclear arms race in the region.

Let's revive the spirit of 2015 and make diplomacy work! '' Pic.twitter.com/1L7UbcwJYK

- MFA Austria (@MFA_Austria) April 7, 2021

There is no substitute for negotiations

For his part, the US envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, said that he had held good talks with his country's partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries regarding the Vienna talks and regional security.

Mali confirmed in a tweet on Twitter his participation in the next round of talks in Vienna, which aim to return to mutual compliance with the nuclear deal with Iran.

The Russian representative to the international organizations in Vienna considered that Israel's comprehensive rejection of the nuclear agreement is regrettable and unreasonable, explaining in the same context that he is optimistic about the progress of the negotiations, in which there is no alternative but success in them.

The Russian delegate revealed that the Iranians are not yet ready to speak directly with the Americans.

Last week, world powers and Iran concluded a round of talks in Vienna with the aim of returning the United States to the agreement from which former US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.