The head of the British delegation to the Vienna negotiations aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement announced that the European participants will return to their capitals for consultations, considering that an agreement is within reach, while Tehran stressed the need to respect its own "red lines".
British official Stephanie Al-Qaq explained that the delegations are close to the agreement, and that negotiators from Germany, France and the United Kingdom will leave soon to assess the situation with the ministers, and said, "We are ready to return soon."
Iran and the powers affiliated to the 2015 agreement (France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany) are holding talks to revive the understanding from which the United States withdrew unilaterally in 2018.
The talks, in which Washington indirectly participates, reached an advanced stage, but without resolving all the differences.
Western countries demanded that it be accomplished this week, especially in light of what they believe is the acceleration of Iran's nuclear activities.
In turn, Galina Porter - a spokeswoman for the US State Department - said that a possible agreement is imminent, but she warned that there are outstanding issues that remain unresolved.
"We are one minute away from the finish line," Russia's envoy to the talks, Mikhail Ulyanov, told Reuters, the most optimistic of the heads of delegations, when asked about the talks.
Iranian media quoted Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian as telling EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a phone call, "We are ready to reach a good and immediate agreement," adding, "Most of the Iranian requests were taken into account in the upcoming agreement."
Abdollahian affirmed his readiness to come to Vienna if an understanding is reached that respects Tehran's "red lines".
Among the remaining issues are the efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency to resolve issues related to nuclear materials that the agency suspects that Iran has not declared.
The IAEA found traces of uranium in 3 ancient sites that Iran has never announced, and has repeatedly indicated that Tehran has not provided sufficient answers.
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is due to travel to Tehran on Saturday, hoping to agree on a process that ends the investigation, which could pave the way for a broader agreement, diplomats said.
The 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers was aimed at reducing Iran's ability to acquire fissile material for use in nuclear weapons.
Iran has always denied seeking to acquire these weapons.
Former US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the agreement in 2018, and re-imposed harsh economic sanctions on Tehran.