Iran said on Thursday that it remains "serious" about reaching a revived nuclear deal with major powers that ends economic sanctions and to which the United States is again a party, AFP reported.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was speaking at a joint news conference with visiting Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov as talks between the parties in Vienna remain stalled.
"The nuclear negotiations train has reached difficult stops as they near the end," Amir-Abdollahian said, stressing Iran was "serious about reaching a good, strong and lasting agreement".
"I hope we can reach the final point of the agreement in the near future with realism from the American side," he added, according to AFP.
Iran scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal it signed with major powers, in response to former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May of 2018, but has held several rounds of indirect talks with the US on a return to the agreement.
An agreement was nearly reached before the talks stopped in March. US Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley told lawmakers recently that the prospects for reaching a deal with Iran are “tenuous” at best.
Biden administration officials recently assured senators that the US would ramp up sanctions on Iran if needed as hopes dim for a diplomatic pathway on Tehran’s nuclear program.
Last week, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi criticized the United States for imposing new sanctions on petrochemical producers in the Islamic Republic.
"The world must give us the right not to trust the United States because they are violating their agreements," Raisi said.