Damascus, Mar 24 (IANS): The visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has said his country is close to reaching an agreement on the restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"We believe that today, more than ever, we are closer to reaching an agreement and finalising the deal in Vienna," Amir Abdollahian told the media on Wednesday after a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad and other senior officials in Damascus.

"If America adopted a realistic view and dealt realistically with this matter, we are ready to declare this agreement," he added.

"We have made our final proposals to the US through the EU Coordinator," he said, adding that Iran has made it clear to the American side not to cross its redlines.

Iran signed the JCPOA with world powers in 2015. However, former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, Xinhua news agency reported.

Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have been held in Vienna between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties, with the US indirectly involved, to revive the deal.