By Staff, Agencies Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that a good and strong agreement can be reached on restoring the US-abandoned Iran deal through the Vienna talks if the American side is realistic. Amir Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone conversation with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday, as he briefed his Chinese counterpart on the latest progress in the endeavors to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA].

“If the American side is realistic, we will finalize a good, strong, and lasting agreement with the support of all negotiating parties in Vienna,” the top Iranian diplomat signaled.

He said Iran stands ready to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible and resolve the final outstanding issues through consultation with related parties in order to work toward a good agreement.

Iran thanks China for playing a constructive role in the negotiations, Amir Abdollahian added, voicing hope that China will continue to provide support.

He also referred to his meeting with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, saying Moscow reiterated its support for the removal of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran by playing a constructive role in the Vienna talks.

The Vienna talks were paused on Friday so that the negotiators return to their respective capitals for further consultations to resolve a few outstanding issues that remain resolved.

All parties to the talks have publicly said that they are at the final stages of the negotiations.

Washington said on Monday that the engaged parties are “close to the finish line.” Iran has urged the US to drop its “excessive demands” to reach an agreement as quickly as possible.

The US unilaterally pulled out of the JCPOA in 2018 and launched an abortive "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions and threats.

The Vienna talks aim to compel the US to fully honor the deal by removing all of its anti-Iran sanctions.

Iran says it seeks guarantees that the US would not leave the deal again.

It also demands a removal of US sanctions in a verifiable manner.

During the Tuesday phone conversation, Wang, for his part, said China always supports reaching an agreement on reviving the JCPOA and is open to and supportive of efforts to this end.

“China is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Iran to push the settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue in a direction conducive to regional peace and stability,” he said