Tehran, August 9 (EFE).- Iran’s government will “study” the European Union’s new proposal to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, after four days of negotiations in Vienna in which “relative progress” was made.

“This matter should be studied in depth and we will give our final answer to the coordinator in Vienna,” Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

The Foreign Ministry stressed that “relative progress on some issues” had been made in this round of negotiations, but did not consider the deal closed.

“The concern of the Iranian negotiating team is to defend the rights of the Iranian people, protect their interests, ensure the implementation of the other party’s commitments, and prevent the US from repeating illegal actions,” the statement said.

The latest round to reactivate an international agreement that in 2015 limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions ended on Monday with a new text proposed by the European Union, the coordinator of negotiations.

The proposal must now be approved by the governments of countries that are part of the agreement such as Iran, Germany, France, Britain, Russia, China and the United States.

The European Union’s (EU) high representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, yesterday believed that a reactivation of the treaty could be signed if the capitals of the negotiating countries agreed to the latest proposed version of the pact.

“However, behind every technical question and every paragraph there is a political decision to be made in the capital,” Borrell warned, adding that “if this answer is positive, then we can sign this agreement.”

Iran has been negotiating since April 2021 with Germany, France, Britain, Russia, China – and the United States, indirectly – the restoration of the 2015 pact, which limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.

But the talks in Vienna stalled in March, after more than a year of dialogue and very close to a deal that was closed because of disagreements between Washington and Tehran over bilateral issues.

Among the pending issues are sanctions against Iran’s Revolutionary Guards or guarantees that the US will not abandon the treaty again.

The 2015 nuclear pact limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, but in 2018 Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned them and reimposed economic sanctions on Iran.

Tehran responded a year later by stepping up its nuclear and uranium enrichment efforts.