TEHRAN: Iranian negotiators in the nuclear discussions have been ignoring "threats and empty deadlines" by the West so as to protect Iranian people's rights and the long-term interests of the country,  Mohammad Marandi, an advisor to the Iranian team said.

Before departing the Austrian capital where the discussions were held on Tuesday, Mohammad Marandi was quoted by the IRNA as saying that the Iranian negotiators had exerted significant pressure on the American and European governments to renounce their unreasonable positions.

According to Marandi, a lecturer at the University of Tehran, the Iranian team sought "important concessions" from the opposition.  He declined to comment on the language of a potential agreement on restarting the 2015 nuclear pact that was given by Josep Borrell, the foreign policy leader of the European Union, stating that "careful analysis" will be conducted in Tehran.

Iran and the world powers agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the nuclear agreement, in July 2015. In exchange for the lifting of sanctions, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear programme. However, former US President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the pact and reinstituted unilateral sanctions against Tehran, which caused the latter to renege on some of its pact obligations.

The JCPOA revival discussions got underway in Vienna in April 2021 but were put on hold in March 2022 due to political disputes between Tehran and Washington. After a five-month pause, the latest round of negotiations started on Thursday and ended on Monday without a resolution.

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