Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Tuesday that his country will not retreat from its red lines in nuclear talks with world powers, while reports indicate that the two sides are close to reaching a settlement.
The Iranian president explained that his government "continues nuclear negotiations in full accordance with the principles and framework set by the Supreme Leader," referring to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The semi-official Fars news agency quoted Raisi as saying that Iran "has not and will not retreat from any of these red lines."
This came after the European Union said it was time for Washington and Tehran to take the necessary political decisions to reach an agreement.
The 11-month-old talks aim to revive the 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Iran, which Washington withdrew from in 2018, and Tehran responded by repudiating some of its key provisions.
The 2015 agreement included lifting sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme.
Currently, Iran is seeking the lifting of all sanctions and wants guarantees from the United States that it will not abandon the agreement again.
Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani returned to Tehran on Monday to consult on the nuclear deal.
Western comment
The European Union official coordinating the talks, Enrique Mora, said that the necessary political decisions must be taken to conclude the negotiations successfully in the next few days.
Diplomats say there is still a need to overcome many differences in the talks, which have also been damaged by Russia's last-minute demands for a guarantee from the United States that Russia's trade, investment and military-technical cooperation with Iran will not be hampered by sanctions linked to its war in Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken played down this during a visit to Estonia, saying Russia had a self-interest in preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The parties involved in the talks said last week that an agreement was expected within days.