Iran Rejects Western Deadline, French Foreign Minister Says Restoration Of 2015 Nuclear Deal Is Still Far From Being Agreed

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. (Wikimedia Commons/The Official CTBTO Photostream)

JAKARTA - Iran and world powers are still far from agreeing to revive their 2015 nuclear deal despite making some progress in late December, France's foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Indirect talks between Iran and the United States to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal resumed on January 3.

Western diplomats have indicated they hope to have a breakthrough in late January or early February. However, sharp differences remain with the toughest issues still unresolved. Iran has rejected deadlines imposed by Western powers.

"Discussions are ongoing. They are slow, too slow and that creates a gap that jeopardizes the chances of finding a solution that respects the interests of all parties," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a parliamentary hearing, citing Reuters January 12.

"Some progress has been made at the end of December, but we are far from finalizing these negotiations."

The eighth round of talks, the first under new hardline Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, resumed after adding several new Iranian demands to a working text.

To note, Iran refuses to meet directly with US officials, meaning the other parties to these talks, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, will have to go back and forth between the two sides.

Little remains of the deal, which lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities. President Donald Trump then pulled Washington out of it in 2018, reimposing U.S. sanctions, and Iran went on to breach many of the deal's nuclear restrictions and continue to push far beyond them.