Tehran, Mar 14 (IANS): Iran's economic benefits has been the focal point in the indirect talks between Tehran and Washington for the past months in the Austrian capital Vienna, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh.

"The nature of the fundamental discussions between us and the US is that the economic benefits for the Iranian people must be observed," Xinhua news agency quoted Khatibzadeh as saying.

The sanctions prevented Iran from enjoying the economic advantages of the 2015 nuclear pact, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), said Khatibzadeh, adding that the entire chain of sanctions on Iran must be terminated as a result of the negotiations in Vienna, he said.

Iran does not accept the so-called "red lines" in the anti-Iran sanctions imposed by the US, he added.

On March 11, Josep Borrell, EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, announced a pause in the negotiations, saying that "a pause in Vienna talks is needed, due to external factors".

Iran signed the nuclear deal with the world powers in July 2015.

However, former US President Donald Trump pulled ut of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran.

Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have been held in Vienna between Iran and major parties to the JCPOA, namely Russia, China, France, the UK and Germany, in a bid to revive the deal.

The US has been indirectly involved in the talks.

Over the past days, reports from Vienna suggested that the negotiators were "close" to an agreement with few key issues remaining which required "political decisions" of the parties.