TEHRAN - Negotiations to revive a 2015 nuclear deal signed between Iran and world powers will resume on Monday in Austria’s capital, officials have said.

“Vienna talks to resume on Monday 27 December. The JCPOA Joint Commission will meet to discuss and define the way ahead,” European Union diplomat Enrique Mora wrote on Twitter, referring to the acronym of the deal’s formal name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

“Important to pick up the pace on key outstanding issues and move forward, working closely with the U.S. Welcome to the 8th round,” Mora said, according to Al Jazeera.

In Tehran, Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri, Iran's lead negotiator, confirmed the November 27 resumption of talks in Vienna. He tweeted that the date had been set in a phone call with Mora.

"We agreed to start the negotiations aiming at removal of unlawful and inhumane sanctions on 27 November in Vienna," Bagheri tweeted.

Negotiations restarted in November after a five-month hiatus to try to restore the deal, which was to lift sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program. The seventh round concluded last week, where some modest gains were reported.

Reports indicated the participants – Iran, China, Russia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom which took part in the talks, plus the U.S. which is participating indirectly – were close to reaching a new joint draft, incorporating elements from a text reached by the end of the sixth round in June and new proposals, by the administration of President Ebrahim Raisi, presented in the form of two documents earlier this month.

Iran has said it wants all sanctions, imposed as part of the “maximum pressure” campaign by the U.S., lifted.

Iran also wants a period to verify the lifting of sanctions, and guarantees the U.S. will not renege on the accord again – demands that it wishes to present as part of a third text when the initial two are agreed upon.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s top envoy to the talks, said on Thursday that while it is not “popular to engage in serious business” during the holiday season, the resumption of talks indicated a consensus to restoring the deal as soon as possible.

The EU’s foreign service said the meeting would be attended by representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and Iran.

“Participants will continue the discussions on the prospect of a possible return of the United States to the JCPOA and how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the agreement by all sides,” the External Action Service’s statement said.