EU Official is 'Sure' Next Round of Iran Nuclear Talks Will Result in Deal Between Nations

European Union official Enrique Mora, who chaired talks in Vienna on Wednesday, said he is confident the next round of negotiations over Iran's nuclear program will result in Tehran's compliance with a 2015 deal aimed at curbing its atomic ambitions and also see the United States rejoin the accord.

Delegations from Russia, China, Germany, France, Britain, Iran and the U.S. will return to their home countries to brief their governments before reconvening in Vienna next week, according to Mora, the Associated Press reported.

"I'm sure that the next round will be the one in which we will finally get the deal," Mora told reporters after the meeting.

"There are a few political issues (and) there are a number of technical issues, again rather complex," he added. "But I can say that they are fewer than they were one week ago. So we are (on) a good track."

"I think every capital has to give a green light to their respective delegations to get the agreement, and I think that will be the case next week."

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.

Other European diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity as they weren't authorized to be quoted by name, described the talks in Vienna as "intense and productive," but cautioned that they would become more difficult as delegates tackle harder issues.

While progress had been made and important aspects of a future deal had been hammered out, the diplomats said that tough decisions lie ahead and nothing would be agreed until everything was agreed.

Asked about the United Nations' atomic watchdog this week stating that it hasn't been able to access data important to monitoring Iran's nuclear program since late February, Mora said delegations had "taken note" of the report.

Iran started limiting inspections in a bid to put pressure on the government of U.S. President Joe Biden to lift crippling sanctions reimposed after then-President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, in 2018.

"It's something that is not directly related to the negotiations of the JCPOA," Mora said, referring to the U.N. atomic energy agency's report that it had not had access to the monitoring data since Feb. 23.