The chief Iranian negotiator at the Vienna talks, Ali Bagheri, said that the countdown to reaching a final agreement on the Iranian nuclear file has begun, stressing that the intensity of differences over lifting US sanctions has receded.

The Iranian official confirmed - in press statements - that the ongoing negotiations in Vienna are making progress towards reaching an agreement, and said that the differences in opinions between negotiators from Iran and other countries are currently shrinking.

While nuclear negotiations are continuing in the Austrian capital at the technical and political levels between Iran and the major powers, Bagheri met with the European Union representative, Enrique Mora, and the heads of the three European delegations representing France, Britain and Germany.

For his part, the Russian envoy to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said that the atmosphere of the talks in Vienna is positive and practical, adding that the negotiations are making progress, not quickly, but in a gradual manner.

The Russian delegate said that the participants discussed the issue of guarantees "so that the current problems do not recur", in reference to the US withdrawal from the agreement, noting that Russia made some proposals without giving details about them.

Ulyanov also clarified in a tweet on Twitter that all participants in the negotiations acknowledge that progress has been made in lifting US sanctions on Iran and restoring the nuclear agreement, but he added that additional and continuous efforts are required to achieve this goal.

Meanwhile, the parties to the nuclear agreement held a new meeting with the United States, without the presence of Iran, which refuses to sit at the same table with the Americans.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian had confirmed that the ongoing nuclear negotiations in Vienna are on the right track, and that Tehran is hearing good words from Washington.

Abdullahian said - in a previous interview with Al-Jazeera - that "a good agreement in the Vienna negotiations is possible, if the Western parties possess the intention and will to do so."


Glory and honor negotiations

Meanwhile, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi said that his country is engaged in - what he called - negotiations to lift the US sanctions imposed on his country, with pride and honor.

In a speech during the discussion of the draft budget before Parliament, he stressed that his government is working at the same time to neutralize and thwart the impact of sanctions.

In this context, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stressed that negotiation does not mean "handing over to the enemy," in an implicit reference to the ongoing talks between his country and major powers to revive the nuclear agreement in Vienna, but he avoided mentioning those negotiations by name.

In his speech today, Sunday, on the occasion of the "memorial of the uprising" of the people of Qom against the former Shah's regime in 1978, Khamenei said that "non-submission to an arrogant enemy is one of the principles of the Islamic Revolution, and the enemy must not be surrendered, and the arrogance of the enemy must not be tolerated."

The negotiations aim for Iran to return to full compliance with the terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement aimed at putting an end to Iran's nuclear program, in exchange for lifting international sanctions imposed on Tehran.