GOOD PROGRESS MADE AT VIENNA NUKE TALKS, IRAN NEGOTIATOR SAYS

Iran's top negotiator at nuclear talks underway in Vienna said on Saturday that the discussions were on the right track and consultations would continue, Farshad Motahari and Christian Thiele reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian media that "good discussions" had been held among the delegations from Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany. "It seems that a new understanding is emerging and there is now common ground ... on the final goal," Araghchi was quoted as saying by state television.

According to Araghchi, Iran has drafted a roadmap to serve as the basis on which the Islamic Republic could return to its technical commitments in the nuclear deal while the US lifts sanctions. Araghchi cautioned that there remain "serious disagreements," but said that technical consultations would go on in the coming days.

The negotiators have been meeting in working groups in the Austrian capital for more than a week. The goal is to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that was crafted to constrain Iran's nuclear program.

It has been hanging by a thread since 2018 when then-president Donald Trump pulled the US out of the accord and Tehran began to increasingly violate its terms. Iran announced a major hike in its uranium enrichment program this week, igniting fresh fears over the ability of the country to produce nuclear weapons.

Later on Saturday, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Iran had enriched uranium to 60 percent, after an inspection of the facility at Natanz where the production process had begun.

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