TEHRAN – German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass has called for full restoration of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying time is of the essence in the current nuclear negotiations on the deal. 

The top German diplomat described the Vienna nuclear talks as “tough and laborious” but said they are being pursued in a constructive atmosphere

“The negotiations are tough and laborious but all participants are conducting the talks in a constructive atmosphere,” Maas said on the margins of a meeting with his European Union counterparts in Brussels, according to Reuters. 

“However, time is running out. We aim for the full restoration of the Iran nuclear deal as this is the only way to guarantee that Iran will not be able to come into possession of nuclear weapons,” he added.

Diplomats from Iran and the P4+1 group of countries as well as the United States are in the Austrian capital of Vienna for a fourth round of talks over how to revive the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

 Iran has said the Vienna talks are moving in the right direction and negotiators have begun drafting texts for agreement on the JCPOA. 

“The talks in Vienna have entered the phase of drafting texts in the field of sanctions lifting and nuclear measures,” Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said on Monday.

SM/PA