An Iranian Optimism about the progress of the nuclear talks with Tehran declaring that reaching an agreement is possible if the other parties show “good faith”

Iran expressed optimism on Tuesday about talks launched this week to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, despite Western countries saying negotiations are proceeding too slowly.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that reaching an agreement was possible if the other parties showed “good faith”, while Russian envoy Mikhail Ulyanov indicated that a working group was making indisputable progress in the eighth round of talks.

Iran and the United States resumed indirect talks in Vienna on Monday, with Tehran focusing on one aspect of the original deal – the lifting of sanctions, despite what critics see as little progress on curbing its nuclear activities.

The seventh round of talks ended 11 days ago by adding some new Iranian demands to the text that is being worked on.

Iran stresses that all US sanctions must be lifted before steps can be taken over its nuclear activities, but Western negotiators say nuclear steps must be balanced with sanctions in the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

In Tehran, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian told reporters, broadcasted by local media, that “the Vienna talks are going in the right direction… We believe that if the other parties continue the round of talks, which has just begun, in good faith, a good agreement can be reached for all parties”.

France, Germany and Britain said in a statement on Tuesday that technical progress had been made in the latest round and that the parties now needed to focus fully on the main outstanding issues, especially the nuclear aspects and sanctions.

The three countries added that they didn’t set a deadline for the talks, but added that there were only weeks, not months, to reach an agreement.

“We’re clearly saying that we are approaching the point where Iran’s escalation of its nuclear program has completely emptied the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” the statement said.

The three countries added, “Negotiation is urgent, and our teams here are working quickly and in good faith to reach an agreement”.

The original agreement lifted sanctions on Iran in return for strict limits on its nuclear activities.

But former US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the agreement in 2018, and re-imposed harsh sanctions on Tehran.

Iran later responded by violating many nuclear restrictions and proceeding with its nuclear activities.

Iran refuses to meet directly with US officials, so the other parties to the agreement, namely Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and the European Union, move between the two sides in separate meetings.

For his part, the Russian envoy to the nuclear talks, Mikhail Ulyanov, said that a working group is making progress”.

Lifting sanctions is actively being discussed in informal talks”, he Twitted.

The 2015 deal extended the time Iran would need to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon, if it chose to do so, to at least a year, up from about two to three months.

Most experts say the time span is now shorter than it was before the deal, despite Tehran’s assurances that it only wants nuclear technology for peaceful uses.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday that Israel wouldn’t automatically oppose any nuclear deal with Iran, but that major powers should take a tougher stance.

Israel says it will never allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons and that all options are on the table.

Israeli leaders point out that Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons poses an existential threat to Israel.

“Of course there can be a good deal,” Bennett said in an interview with Israel’s Army Radio, naturally, We know the standards… Is this expected to happen now in the current circumstances? No, because there has to be a firmer stance”.

He declined to comment on Israel’s ability to launch a military strike on Iran and said he favored a “less talk, more action” approach.