However, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh warned of a strong countermeasure in the event of a Plan B by the United States, which abandoned the pact and has an indirect participation in the negotiations in the Austrian capital.

Khatibzadeh also specified that important issues remain to be solved in these discussions which are delayed by the lack of response from the counterparts.

“There is considerable progress on technical issues, but on the issue of the abolition of anti-Iranian coercive measures, the process is moving slowly,” he said.

A lasting agreement would be possible in the short term, he added, if the will of the European trio (UK, France and Germany) and the United States prevails.

Tehran urged the US administration of Joe Biden to avoid pressure and blackmailing and to correct the mistakes of his predecessor, Donald Trump.

Iran will not accept concessions beyond the framework of the original JCPOA, sealed in 2015, he noted, officially named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

What is paramount in the negotiating rounds in Vienna, according to Iranian officials, is the effective removal of the sanctions imposed by Washington.

pgh/etc/mem/arc