EU says more work needed in Iran nuclear talks

Iran and global powers have made progress in talks to bring back the 2015 nuclear accord, although European Union (EU) says much more work is needed to bring the deal back to life.

A senior EU official said on Tuesday confirmed that meetings are to resume next week after delegations consult with their respective capitals.

"Progress can be seen over the last two weeks but much more hard work is required to do,” Deputy Secretary-General European External Action Service, Enrique Mora said on Twitter.

The talks are aimed at bringing Tehran and Washington back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal. 

As per Russian and Chinese officials, talks will pick up the pace again next week based on the progress achieved so far.

Iran and global powers have been meeting since early April, in Vienna, to pave a way out on the steps that must be taken, including US sanctions and Tehran's violations of the limits on its uranium enrichment capacity.

US President Joe Biden's administration, after taking office in January, has been seeking to rejoin the accord and has shown its readiness to pull out "all sanctions that are not in line" with the deal, although not categorically mentioning which measures it means.

Washington’s State Department recently described the talks in positive words but said there was a long way to go.

“We have more road ahead of us than what has been left behind us at this stage,” said spokesperson US State Department, Ned Price.

Iran's establishment has refused to return to compliance with the 2015 agreement unless all the sanctions added or reimposed by former President Donald Trump, post the abandonment of the accord in 2018, are overturned.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, however, said the talks were moving forward.

Iranian officials have cited the possibility of an interim deal so that time could be bought for a lasting settlement.