Russian Deputy FM: Iran's proposals for the nuclear deal reflect its utmost seriousness to resume it.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said "the chances of reaching an agreement on restoring the JCPOA have increased."

Ryabkov told Sputnik that Iran's proposals for the nuclear deal reflect its utmost seriousness to resume it. "I would rather say that there are reasons to expect some progress," Ryabkov revealed.

He also mentioned that Moscow has consistently made clear to Washington that threatening Iran with sanctions during the course of the Vienna talks is not constructive.

On Saturday, Iran's lead negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said several points of difference have remained unresolved in the draft text that was the outcome of the six rounds of talks held between April and June, adding that they required decision-making at the highest levels.

"We will definitely agree to nothing less than that agreement and this will certainly be a red line for the Islamic Republic of Iran," Bagheri Kani told Press TV.

The lead negotiator tweeted in Vienna that he "held a constructive and fruitful meeting with Russian and Chinese chief negotiators."

This afternoon I held a constructive & fruitful meeting with Russian & Chinese chief negotiators.
We shared ideas about how to proceed & also coordinated our positions about several issues.
We will continue our intensive & serious engagement to reach a good deal. https://t.co/BqEQJCUuTa
— علی باقری‌کنی (@Bagheri_Kani) December 12, 2021

This comes at a time when The Wall Street Journal published an article quoting senior US officials as saying that US President Joe Biden is moving to tighten its enforcement of the sanctions against Iran.

Despite the recent announcement of the resumption of the Vienna Talks, the US did not hesitate to impose additional sanctions on Iran.

The sanctions come under the presumption of “defending democracy and fighting repression” in parallel to the widely-criticized US "Summit for Democracy".

Iran presented two drafts in the first phase of the seventh round of the Vienna meetings on nuclear commitments and the abolition of sanctions. According to the lead Iranian negotiator, the first draft is Iran's view on lifting sanctions and the second draft focuses on Iran's nuclear commitments.

Tehran focused on the issue of lifting sanctions, stressing that it will not accept a new agreement or undertake any commitment beyond what was stated in the original 2015 agreement.