Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora Mora, who chaired Thursday’s meeting, said that he felt “a renewed sense of purpose on the need to work and to reach an agreement on bringing the (2015 nuclear agreement) back to life”.

Washington plans to send a delegation led by Robert Malley, the special US envoy for Iran, to Vienna over the weekend.

Negotiations between Iran and world powers on its controversial nuclear program resumed Thursday in Vienna after a few days’ pause, with tensions high after Tehran made demands last week that European countries strongly criticised.

Enrique Mora, Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) said Wednesday the seventh series of discussions centered on the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will continue “after consultations in and among capitals. A joint commission and a number of bilateral and multilateral contacts will take place.”

Mora, who chaired Thursday’s meeting, said that he felt “a renewed sense of purpose on the need to work and to reach an agreement on bringing the (2015 nuclear agreement) back to life”.

“Whether that will be confirmed and endorsed by negotiations on the details, we will see in the coming days,” Mora said, adding that the positive impression “has to be tested”.

He said that it is becoming “more imperative” with time to reach an agreement quickly.

Iran’s top negotiator in nuclear talks said he had insisted Tehran was serious in the negotiations, underlining that Iran was continuing talks based on its previous positions.

“Iran is serious about reaching an agreement if the ground is paved …. The fact that all sides want the talks to continue shows that all parties want to narrow the gaps,” Ali Bagheri Kani told reporters after talks resumed in Vienna.

The current round of negotiations began on Nov. 29 after a five-month break.

They were suspended on Friday after American officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said Iran was not taking a serious approach to the efforts.

CIA director William Burns echoed those comments, stating on Tuesday that the Iranians “have not been taking the negotiation seriously at this point.”

European diplomats also struck a pessimistic tone over what they noted as unreasonable Iranian demands.

China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Russia are participating in the direct talks, while American diplomats are in Vienna and are being briefed on the meetings.

The United States has participated indirectly in the talks because it withdrew from the accord in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden has signalled that he wants to rejoin the deal. Washington plans to send a delegation led by Robert Malley, the special US envoy for Iran, to Vienna over the weekend.