Negotiations resume Monday in Vienna about restoring the 2015 international agreement that limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, after the parties took a break for the new year.

A spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Monday the talks are “entering an in-depth phase.”

Though Iran and the United States have cited some progress, Iran has faulted what it calls “maximal demands” from the U.S. side, while U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said last week it was too soon to tell if Iran brought a “more constructive approach” to the current round of negotiations.

Both sides have signaled a willingness to fully rejoin the deal. Since the negotiations began in April, other signatories to the agreement have acted as a go-between with the U.S. and Iranian delegations holding only indirect talks.

The United States withdrew from the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in 2018 under former President Donald Trump.

Iran subsequently stepped away from its commitments under the agreement, including stockpiling uranium above maximum limits, enriching uranium to higher levels and utilizing more advanced centrifuges.

France on Friday condemned an Iranian satellite rocket launch, saying it breached U.N. Security Council resolutions and was “all the more regrettable” coming at a time of progress in the Vienna talks.

Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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