Russia says Iran nuclear talks enter 'drafting stage'

The 2015 agreement to curb Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief has been left hanging by a thread since the US withdrew from the pact in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions, prompting Tehran to in turn step up its nuclear activities.

Diplomats from the parties to the deal -- Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany and China -- have been meeting in Vienna since early this month to find a way to get the pact back on track with US participation under the new Joe Biden administration.

"Summing up the results of two weeks of deliberations on JCPOA restoration we can note with satisfaction that the negotiations entered the drafting stage," Russian ambassador to Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov wrote on Twitter, referring to the acronym of the deal's formal name.

"Practical solutions are still far away, but we have moved from general words to agreeing on specific steps towards the goal," he added.

Separately, the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran on Monday began "to engage in a focused process" aimed at clarifying IAEA queries about the possible previous presence of nuclear material at undeclared sites, the UN's nuclear watchdog said.

"As agreed in March... the discussions are being held at the level of technical experts. Today's meeting took place in Vienna," the IAEA said in a statement to AFP.

The EU, Russia and Iran all hailed progress at the talks Saturday following an attack on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, which Tehran blamed on arch-foe Israel.