Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdullahian on Monday urged the United States to be “realistic” in reaching a deal at talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. (JCPOA) is known as

Iran’s top diplomat said on Twitter that the “excessive demands” of the United States could lead to a postponement of the Vienna talks because Iran would “never give in” to such demands.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahi (R) shakes hands with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi on March 5, 2022 in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Foreign Ministry / via Xinhua)

Mr Amir-Abdullahian also insisted that “a settlement can be reached if the United States is realistic”.

Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Khatibzadeh said the United States should be held accountable for the expansion in the Vienna talks.

Iran signed the JCPOA with several world powers in July 2015. However, former US President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the deal in May 2018 and unilaterally imposed sanctions against Tehran, leaving the latter part of its nuclear commitments under the agreement.

Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have taken place in Vienna between Iran and the other parties to the JCPOA, namely China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, to revive the agreement.

In recent weeks, reports from Vienna have suggested that negotiators are “closer” to a deal, while some key issues remain unresolved pending a “political decision” of the parties.