The US State Department expected a new round of talks with Iran to start in Vienna, on the other hand, Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei said on Friday that his country wanted actions, not promises, from the United States and world powers to revive the nuclear agreement.

For his part, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said, "Washington expects a sixth round of indirect talks with Iran, and that the negotiations will extend to other subsequent rounds, with the aim of reviving the nuclear agreement."

He added that the US negotiators in Vienna are neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the progress of the talks, noting that the ultimate goal of his country is to ensure that Iran implements its obligations under the agreement.

"Our goal is to ensure Iran returns to the stricter verification and monitoring regime negotiated in 2015, and we are indirectly discussing through our allies and partners with the Iranians about ways we might return to mutual compliance with the terms of the agreement," he said.

The White House had previously said that an agreement with Iran that prevents it from acquiring a nuclear weapon would be in the interest of the United States, stressing that it would provide Israeli officials with the latest developments in nuclear talks with Tehran.

Draft agreement in Vienna

Earlier, Enrique Mora, the European Union's deputy foreign policy official, revealed the existence of a draft agreement being worked on in the Vienna negotiations on reviving the Iranian nuclear agreement.

The EU official added that the draft agreement presents several options that must be resolved.

While the agreement is expected to be formally signed next week, Reuters quoted senior diplomats as saying, "The most difficult decisions have not yet been taken."

It is expected that negotiations will resume in Vienna, next week, in conjunction with the meetings of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which will be held from 7 to 11 of this month.

Iran's demands

On the other hand, the Iranian guide said, "I told our negotiators that what is required is actions, not promises, to revive the nuclear agreement."

With the end of the fifth round yesterday evening, Wednesday, and the return of delegations to hold consultations in their countries, Abbas Araqchi, chief negotiator and assistant foreign minister of Iran, said that there will be a sixth round, which may be the last.

In statements carried by the Iranian news agency, Araqchi said Thursday that it is time for the United States and the Europeans to make their difficult decisions.

Araqchi added that although good progress has been made in the course of negotiations, there are still major issues that must be agreed upon.

The Iranian official added, "As I expected earlier that we still have not reached a final outcome of the consensus, there is a distance that separates us, but of course we are not far."

Iran and world powers have been holding talks since early April aimed at bringing it and the United States back into full compliance with the deal that former US President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.

In response to the sanctions, Iran is rebuilding its stockpile of enriched uranium, enriching it to higher levels of purity, and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up the production process.

Although the United States withdrew in 2018 from the nuclear agreement, and is no longer officially a party to the "5 + 1" group, it is a major party in the current talks, in which the other signatories to the agreement are also participating.

Iran stresses the need to lift sanctions, and its chief negotiator confirmed a month ago that sanctions will be lifted on key sectors, including oil and banking. In return, Washington insists that Tehran return to full and verifiable compliance with the terms of the 2015 agreement.