IRNA reported that Iran sent back the draft Vienna Agreement to the EU on Tuesday, but the agency did not publish Iran’s response.
On Twitter, Iran’s negotiating team adviser, Mohammad Marandi, said Iran had “expressed concerns” about the draft, but that “remaining issues are not too difficult to resolve.”
“Those concerns are formed on the basis of past violations by the US/EU. I can’t say there will be a deal, but we are closer than we were in the past,” Marandi wrote.
The United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018 under President Donald Trump. After the US withdrawal, Iran increasingly violated the agreements it made under the deal and expanded its nuclear program.
Citing the views of the Iranian negotiating team, IRNA reported on Tuesday that differences remained on three issues.
In those two issues, the US has “shown flexibility with its words”, IRNA reported.
The third issue concerns the parties “ensure the continuation” of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA), according to IRNA. And it “depends on US realism to secure Iran’s opinion”, IRNA reported, citing the negotiating team.
The issues were discussed in detail on Monday during a special meeting of the National Security Council, IRNA reported.
The European Union has not officially acknowledged that it has received Iran’s response.
Earlier on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that if the US showed a realistic and flexible response to Iran’s offer, it “will reach an agreement.”
Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran is ready to come to a conclusion through a meeting of foreign ministers and announce a final agreement if its position is accepted. “The coming days are important,” he said.
Last week, a State Department spokesman told CNN the US was “ready to quickly conclude an agreement on the basis of the EU’s proposals.”
