Iran handed two draft proposals to European powers on Thursday to try to revive a 2015 nuclear deal, as the Europeans and US said time is of the essence.
The proposals of the pact are concerned with the lifting of sanctions and Iran's nuclear commitments, according to the lead negotiator, Ali Bagheri, told Iranian state television.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action JCPOA was submitted to the Islamic republic on Wednesday, the third day of talks in Vienna to revive the agreement, which was known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action JCPOA, which gave the Islamic republic a lifting of some sanctions stifling its economy in return for strict curbs on its nuclear activities.
After Iran stopped them in June after the election of ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi, talks resumed on Monday in Vienna.
Bagheri told IRIB that the first document sums up the Islamic republic's point of view on the lifting of sanctions, while the second document is about Iran's nuclear actions.
Bagheri said that the other side must examine these documents and prepare itself to hold negotiations with Iran based on these documents.
Later Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the hour is getting very late, but it is not too late for Iran to reverse course. The European negotiators on Tuesday said they will assess the seriousness of the Iranian position over the next few days to decide whether or not to continue the talks.
European diplomats warned that there was no time for niceties and that the next 48 hours will be very important diplomatts from Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain are attending the talk alongside Iran.
The administration of US President Joe Biden is indirectly involved in the Vienna discussion, as it wants to get back into the deal.
The deal started to unravel in 2018 when US president Donald Trump pulled out and began imposing new sanctions on Iran.
Iran, which denies it wants to acquire a nuclear arsenal, has gradually abandoned its commitments since 2019.
Biden's administration says it will only negotiate measures taken by Trump over the nuclear programme, such as a unilateral ban on oil sales, not steps imposed on other concerns, such as human rights.
Iran wants to lift all US sanctions imposed after Trump resigned.
The JCPOA's goal is to make it practically impossible for Iran to build an atomic bomb while allowing it to pursue a civilian nuclear programme.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Iran was in Vienna to resume talks, but said it's up to the West.
We have told the other side that we are in Vienna to continue the talks. He told reporters in Vienna that if they are ready to pursue the talks, we agree to pursue them.
He said that a timetable for the resumption of negotiations would be set on Thursday.
Amir-Abdollahian said that the UN's foreign minister said that an agreement to revive the nuclear deal with world powers was within reach. The negotiations in Vienna are proceeding with seriousness and the removal of sanctions is a fundamental priority.
He said that we seek rational, sober and result-oriented dialogue.
In an interview with the Middle East Eye website on Thursday, Bagheri said Tehran did not feel under pressure.
The issue of the negotiations is not related to Iran. He said that it is related to the United States.
The ball is now in the court of the Americans. The Americans must remove the sanctions. Iran's Fars news agency said that Bagheri would meet with Rafael Grossi, head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA Grossi, on Wednesday, who said there was no progress in talks he held in Tehran last week over the monitoring of Iran's atomic programme.
He said Iran has begun enriching uranium to 20 percent over the terms agreed in the 2015 deal - at the Fordo underground facility using advanced centrifuges.
On Thursday Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet called for a immediate cessation of the Vienna talks, accusing Iran of having nuclear weapons and sabotage.