TEHRAN – Iran has made the political decision needed to push the talks in Vienna forward, according to a Tasnim report.

A source close to Iran’s negotiating team in the Vienna talks told the semi-official news agency that unlike Washington, Tehran has made its political decision.

“Iran has made its political decision,” the source told Tasnim on Monday, commenting on the course of the Vienna negotiations about the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and lifting of the sanctions on Iran.

“The main obstacle is the lack of a political decision by the U.S.,” the source added.

“Washington should be worried about the loss of opportunity,” the source said.

Iran’s chief negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, headed to the Austrian capital on Tuesday after a weeklong hiatus intended to make consultations in the capital Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a weekly news conference on Monday that agreements have been reached on the issue of guarantees, but nothing will be agreed unless everything is agreed.

Bagheri Kani met with heads of other negotiating delegations immediately after arriving in Vienna. Before the recent break, it was announced that progress in the talks depended on political decisions in capitals. 

Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Iran has “carefully” set the agenda of Iran’s negotiating team ahead of its return to Vienna. 

“The agenda for the Iranian negotiators to continue the eighth round of the Vienna talks has been carefully defined,” he said on Twitter. The top Iranian security official also hinted that the U.S. needs to make a decision regarding the lifting of sanctions. 

“An agreement in which the sanctions that form the maximum pressure are not lifted will condition the country's economy and cannot be the basis of a Good Deal.”

Earlier, Khatibzadeh suggested that the U.S. needs to make political decisions regarding the Vienna talks. 

“Today, the United States should come to Vienna with a clear agenda and political decisions to remove the sanctions and fulfill its obligations, instead of creating propaganda,” Khatibzadeh noted.

The spokesman added that the Iranian negotiating team has gone to Vienna from the first day with all its necessary authority and competence, and Iran hopes that the decisions will be taken by the other side.

He continued, “It is natural that Iran expects the necessary decisions have been taken by the other parties, especially Washington, on the issue of lifting sanctions and Iran's benefits from the JCPOA.”

Khatibzadeh added that Iran expects the delegations, including the Americans, to return to Vienna with clear instructions to fulfill their obligations in line with the 2015 nuclear deal and the lifting of sanctions. 

“There are significant issues on the agenda that are unlikely to be resolved except with Washington's political decisions,” he concluded.

Bagheri Kani briefed Iranian lawmakers on the outcome of the talks during the hiatus. During the meeting, Bagheri Kani viewed the talks as “forward-moving” and “positive,” according to lawmakers who attended the briefing. 

Khatibzadeh echoed the same assessment at his weekly presser on Monday. He said the talks have made significant progress.
The spokesman said, “We had remarkable progress in various spheres including the issue of guarantees on which some ideas have been raised and written.”

According to Khatibzadeh, the framework of a deal has been laid out and its prospect is very clear. 

At issue are a number of important points such as the guarantees Iran is demanding the U.S. to provide and verification measures Iran says it needs to undertake in case a deal is reached in Vienna. Iran has said it needs guarantees from the U.S. that it won’t renege on its commitments again after it reenters the 2015 nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).