PARIS, 09 March 2022, (TON): France warned that further delays could stymie a revived nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran, with the West at loggerheads with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, while Washington said “it would cede nothing to Moscow.”

Moscow is a direct party along with Britain, China, France and Germany to the ongoing talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Washington is participating indirectly, as former president Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018.

“We are very close to a deal,” but Paris is “very worried about risks that further delays could weigh on the chances,” a foreign ministry spokeswoman told reporters in an apparent reference to Russia’s demands for extra guarantees.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has demanded written assurances from Washington that massive Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine will not affect its economic and military cooperation with Tehran.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said such demands are “irrelevant.”