Iran's chief negotiator in talks to revive a nuclear deal with world powers has returned to Vienna after consultations in Tehran, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.
Ali Bagheri Kani arrived in the Austrian capital early on March 9, ISNA said, amid reports of progress in negotiations to restore the 2015 accord that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA), as the deal is officially known, was abandoned by then-U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 and some of its measures were subsequently violated by Tehran.
Talks to restore the deal have been ongoing in Vienna since April, and the negotiations are reportedly close to reaching an agreement.
But the talks have been complicated by a last-minute demand from Russia for guarantees from the United States that Western sanctions targeting Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine would not affect its dealings with Iran.
The Western parties to the deal -- the United States, Britain, France, and Germany -- on March 8 warned Russia against wrecking the almost completed agreement to restore the JCPOA.
European Union diplomat Enrique Mora, the coordinator of the talks, said on March 7 the time had come for political decisions to be taken to end the negotiations.
