Delegations from six countries: Iran, China, Russia, France and Germany, are pursuing to renegotiate a new nuclear deal in Vienna. Reports suggest that the United States is also indirectly participating in the Vienna talks.

The delegations are expected to head to the Austrian capital in about a week to move forward on restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. However, reports say that the negotiations have yet to show any true potential of restoring the JCPOA, which the U.S. abandoned under the Trump Administration on May 8, 2018.

Iran’s top negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani tweeted on Friday, “We have made good progress this week,” He also added, “We will convene a Joint Commission today & will continue talks after a break of a few days.”

However, Iran has still refused to negotiate a deal directly with the U.S., which is why the delegations will be negotiating through Chinese and European intermediaries in Vienna.

The Iranian demands include a period of time to verify the lifting of sanctions and guarantees the U.S. will not withdraw from the accord again. Moreover, Iran has said it wants all sanctions imposed by the U.S “maximum pressure” campaign lifted. These demands have been met with scepticism from the West, while China reaffirmed support for such demands. 

Iran also submitted draft proposals for a restored 2015 nuclear agreement during the seventh round of talks, but senior diplomats from Britain, France and Germany voiced “disappointment and concern.”

Bagheri has described European criticism as “trying to create a negative atmosphere in order to make up for their shortcomings at the negotiation table.” However, he assured the Iranian press that he was still optimistic about the negotiations.

Although the talks have reached modest progress, the reports indicate that there is still a long way before the negotiations lead to something more noteworthy.