Nuclear talks in Vienna
Nuclear talks in ViennaHandout, Reuters

The US said on Thursday that an agreement on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is close.

“We are close to a possible deal,” Jalina Porter, the US State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, told reporters, according to Reuters.

She cautioned, however, that unsolved issues remained and that time was of the essence given the pace of Iran’s nuclear advances.

Porter’s comment came as an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report showed Iran’s stock of uranium enriched up to 60% fissile purity had almost doubled to 33.2 kg (110 pounds). A senior diplomat said this was around three-quarters of the amount needed, if enriched further, for a nuclear bomb according to a common yardstick.

The UN nuclear watchdog report was seen by Reuters as negotiators seek to resurrect the deal between world powers and Iran.

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

However, it has held several rounds of indirect talks with the US on reviving the deal. The talks, held in Vienna, have been mediated by the European parties to the 2015 deal.

US, Iranian and European officials all said on Thursday an agreement had not yet been struck even as some participants were upbeat.

“There are some issues that need to be finalized … the outstanding issues are relatively small, but not yet settled,” said Russia’s envoy, Mikhail Ulyanov.

Ulyanov told reporters that he did not believe the talks would now collapse and a ministerial meeting – typically where a deal would be blessed – was likely but he could not say if it would be on Saturday, Sunday or Monday.

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said more work was needed, however, and a White House official said there was “no change” from Wednesday, when it had said all sides were working to clarify the most difficult issues.

Thursday’s report comes before a visit to Tehran by IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi.

Grossi, who will travel to Tehran on Saturday, is hoping to agree on a process that would lead to the end of the IAEA’s investigation of Iran’s nuclear program.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke with Grossi on Thursday ahead of Grossi’s trip to Tehran.

In their conversation, the Prime Minister emphasized Israel's positions regarding the nuclear talks in Vienna, as well as regarding the open cases in the IAEA relating to the Iranian weapons program.

The Prime Minister also emphasized Israel's expectation that the IAEA would act as a professional and impartial supervisory body. The two agreed to stay in regular contact.