Ali Shamkhani, the secretary-general of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, met with lawmakers to discuss the latest developments of the nuclear negotiations taking place in Vienna.

Shamkhani said of the remaining issues yet to be resolved in the talks, “Bitter experiences of US lack of commitment and Europe’s lack of action has made meeting requirements for a reliable, balanced and durable agreement difficult.” He added that in addition to having the sanctions removed, Iran is working on making sanctions “ineffective” and that they have taken positive steps in this direction.

According to Iranian officials, the remaining issue that the negotiators are currently trying to resolve is the question of sanctions put on Iran during the presidency of former President Donald Trump. The Biden administration seeks to get the United States back into the deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and bring Iran back into compliance with the original terms, whereas Iran also wants the Trump era sanctions removed. The other remaining issue is that Iran wants a guarantee that the United States will not exit the deal once again as it did with Trump in 2018. Given that the nuclear deal is not a treaty, the terms of the deal put the power in the hands of the executive branch, and if Biden loses re-election, the next Republican president will likely exit the deal.

According to most officials speaking publicly on the talks, the final result of whether Iran and the United States can revive the nuclear deal will be settled in a matter of days, at most a week. Iranian media outlets, especially those linked to President Ebrahim Raisi's administration, have accused Western officials and their media of “playing games” in the final days of the negotiations. Iranian media outlets have also denied Western media claims that lead negotiator Ali Bagheri’s recent trip back to Tehran was to introduce new demands into the talks.