TEHRAN -- The reluctance of the United States to remove all sanctions on Iran is the main challenge to reviving a 2015 nuclear pact, a senior Iranian official said on Sunday, as Western countries struck a hard line after the resumption of Vienna talks.
Talks on reinstating the nuclear pact broke off Friday, with both sides saying they would resume the following week, as European negotiators returned to their capitals to discuss two drafts summing up Iran’s demands.
“It is now clear that Washington’s reluctance to give up sanctions altogether is the main challenge to the progress of the talks,” the unnamed official was quoted as saying.
“We believe that a deal is within reach if the U.S. government gives up its campaign of maximum pressure and the European parties show serious flexibility and political will in the talks.”
Iran and the remaining signatories to the nuclear deal started talks in April aimed at bringing back Washington into full compliance with the pact, which was abandoned by former U.S. President Donald Trump three years ago.
A year after Trump’s reimposition of draconian sanctions on Iran, Tehran began to gradually scale down its compliance as per an article of the accord. Iran wants all sanctions imposed by the United States to be removed in a verifiable process.
Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said on Monday that Tehran had delivered two draft proposals to the remaining parties to the deal in Vienna, one on sanctions removal and the other on nuclear limitations.
Tehran said it will later provide a third draft proposal on the “mechanism and time of verification and issues related to receiving guarantees to prevent the re-withdrawal of the U.S. from the nuclear deal”.
Speaking at the Reuters Next conference, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that the United States would pursue other options if diplomacy failed.
“Contrary to the remarks of the American officials, I believe that if other parties have good will, and stop their futile blame game, an agreement is within reach,” the Iranian official said.
“Other parties should provide proper response or present new proposals and clear ideas in writing ... Then, ways will be opened for the conclusion of a deal and settlement of differences.”
In an interview with Italy’s ANSA news agency published Sunday, Bagheri said Iran will not backtrack on its demands.
He said since the United States has illegally quit the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), it is for Washington to take the first step to end the current situation surrounding the accord.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not backtrack on its demands, which it has put forth in a bid to reactivate

the 2015 nuclear deal and get sanctions removed,” he said.
Iran’s proposed drafts, he said, are “documented and logical” and therefore can be used as a basis for negotiations between Tehran and the P4+1 group of countries - the UK, France, Russia and China plus Germany.
The Islamic Republic believes in negotiations and is “optimistic” about their results, but the “unconstructive behavior of some signatories and their constant violation of obligations force us not to be too optimistic”, he said.
“However, we will wait to see the outcome of the next round of talks, which will be held within the next few days,” Bagheri Kani added.