Nuclear talks in Vienna
Nuclear talks in ViennaHandout via REUTERS

A senior European Union official said on Friday that a US-Iranian deal to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement was close but success depended on the political will of those involved.

"I expect an agreement in the coming week, the coming two weeks or so. I think we have now on the table text that are very, very close to what is going to be the final agreement," the official said, according to the Reuters news agency.

Iran has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal it signed with world powers in response to former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May of 2018.

It has held several rounds of indirect negotiations with the Biden administration on a possible return to the deal.

On Thursday, a US official said a nuclear deal is possible within days if Iran “shows seriousness”.

Stating that "substantial progress has been made in the last week," a State Department spokesperson told AFP that "if Iran shows seriousness, we can and should reach an understanding on mutual return to full implementation of the JCPOA within days.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told the Maariv newspaper on Friday that Iran and the Western powers negotiating in Vienna have reached the basis for a new agreement.

Le Drian said that the new nuclear agreement will be announced by the US and Iran next week, claiming that the two sides have already reached an understanding regarding the tentative deal.

He added that details of the new deal, including the “choreography” of its signing and which officials will represent the signatories have yet to be finalized.

(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)