Iranian minister ‘ready to fly to Vienna’ to sign new nuclear deal

A revived deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of economic sanctions is likely to be reached next week, diplomats said on Friday.

Iran’s foreign minister said he was ready to fly to Vienna to sign the new agreement as negotiators said they were “close to a possible deal.”

Envoys from the UK, France and Germany returned home to brief their governments on the agreement. “We are close,” lead British negotiator Stephanie Al-Qaq said on social media.

“Leaving Vienna briefly to update ministers on state of play. Ready to return soon.”

Russia’s envoy to the talks, Mikhail Ulyanov, said: “We will have a deal maybe in the middle of next week.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell: “I am ready to go to Vienna when the Western sides accept our remaining red lines. The presence of foreign ministers in Vienna and the announcement of a final deal depend on full respect for the red lines set out by Iran, including effective economic guarantees.

“We are ready to finalize a good and immediate agreement. Most of Iran’s requests have been considered.”

Iran is negotiating in Vienna with Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia. The US is involved in the talks indirectly.

The original 2015 agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, collapsed in 2018 n when the US under Donald Trump withdrew and re-imposed sanctions, and began enriching fissile uranium beyond the limits set by the deal.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, is due in Tehran on Saturday to meet senior officials from Iran’s nuclear program to clarify the presence of nuclear material at several undeclared sites.