Russia's negotiating delegation meets with its Iranian counterpart in Vienna.

Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, confirmed on Thursday that he had held a constructive discussion with Ali Bagheri Kani, the head of Iran's delegation at the resumed talks in Vienna on the restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"Met today with the Head of the delegation of Iran at the Vienna Talks on JCPOA Dr. Bagheri Kani. As always we had a frank, pragmatic and constructive exchange of views on ways and means of overcoming the last outstanding issues," Ulyanov mentioned in a tweet.

Met today with the Head of the delegation of #Iran at the #ViennaTalks on #JCPOA Dr. Bagheri Kani. As always we had a frank, pragmatic and constructive exchange of views on ways and means of overcoming the last outstanding issues. pic.twitter.com/KEQIzOXLNL
— Mikhail Ulyanov (@Amb_Ulyanov) August 4, 2022

Earlier in the day, Russia's permanent representative exchanged views on the same issue with the EU Coordinator for nuclear talks with Iran, Enrique Mora.

Met this morning the #EU Coordinator at the #ViennaTalks Enrique Mora. We exchanged views on steps to be taken to restore the #JCPOA. pic.twitter.com/uBWvzG4kyq
— Mikhail Ulyanov (@Amb_Ulyanov) August 4, 2022

It is noteworthy that Russia expressed its readiness to contribute to constructive negotiations and to finalize the agreement on the restoration of the Iran nuclear deal.

Ulyanov said on Wednesday that "the Russian negotiators are ready for constructive negotiations to finalize the agreement."

Bagheri Kani: US must act responsibly to save nuclear deal

On Wednesday, Bagheri Kani said the goal of the negotiations is to determine the conditions for the US' return to the nuclear agreement.

The US cannot set the conditions for Iran, which is a member of the agreement, he added.

Bagheri Kani stressed that the round of negotiations in Vienna is a test of the seriousness and realism of Washington to reach an agreement.

The ball is in Washington's court to save Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, the top Iranian diplomat tweeted ahead of his trip to Vienna, where Iran and the US will resume indirect talks to try to secure the pact.

Iran will not drop demand of removing IRGC from 'terror list'

In the same context, IRNA quoted a source close to Iran's nuclear-negotiating team as saying that Iran is so adamant about removing Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) from the US "terrorist blacklist".

This statement comes in response to the Wall Street Journal's report which claims that Tehran has dropped its demand that the IRGC be removed from Washington's "terrorist blacklist" in exchange for sanctions relief in order to complete the stalled efforts to restart the nuclear deal.

Iran has “good intentions” and is “serious” about reaching an agreement to revive the nuclear deal, IRNA said.

In 2015, Iran signed a nuclear deal, known officially as the JCPOA, with the P5+1 group, which includes the US, China, France, Russia, the UK, Germany, and the European Union.

It required Tehran to scale back its nuclear program and reduce its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including the lifting of an arms embargo five years after the deal was made.

Former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from JCPOA in 2018 and reimposed comprehensive sanctions.

In December 2021, JCPOA parties agreed on two drafts of the new deal, but no definitive agreement was reached. The latest round of negotiations to revive the JCPOA took place in Doha from June 29-30.