Iran, P4+1 near last stage of Vienna talks: FM

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Tehran and the P4+1 are close to the last stage of the nuclear agreement in light of the ongoing talks in the Austrian capital Vienna to revive the accord, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Monday.

"We made proposals to the US through our EU mediator on the few main issues still on the table," Amir-Abdollahian told his Iraqi counterpart Fouad Hussein, the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The Iranian Foreign Minister stressed that his country was determined to reach a new "good, strong, and sustainable agreement in Vienna."

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi spoke over the phone on bilateral ties and regional issues earlier last week.

Iran's Foreign Minister discussed developments in the Vienna Talks, praising China's constructive approach. He added that if the US acted realistically, then a good, lasting deal could be finalized soon.

Washington preparing for mutual, non-mutual return to JCPOA

The US State Department said Monday a nuclear agreement was "neither imminent nor certain," asserting that Washington was preparing "equally" for scenarios with and without a mutual return to the full implementation of the deal.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price warned that Washington was prepared to make "difficult decisions" to return Iran's nuclear program to its limits under the nuclear deal.

As Washington seeks good relations with Tehran in order to reach an agreement on its nuclear program, Axios had reported that the Biden administration was considering the removal of the IRGC from the US terror blacklist in exchange for a commitment from Tehran to "de-escalate" in the region.

Following the report, the Wall Street Journal said Monday the restoration of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal depends on whether or not Washington decides to remove the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) from its "terror" list in exchange for Tehran's vowing to de-escalate tensions in the region.