Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (R) and his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has reiterated Tehran’s readiness to reach a lasting, reliable agreement with the P4+1 group of countries during the negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna aimed at securing the revival of the 2015 deal.

In a phone call with his Japanese counterpart Hayashi Yoshimasa on Thursday, Amir-Abdollahian hailed Tokyo’s efforts to help Iran and the five remaining parties to the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPAO), achieve progress in the Vienna talks.

The Islamic Republic, he said, is ready to achieve a good, lasting and reliable deal.

Former US president Donald Trump unilaterally left the JCPOA in May 2018 and re-imposed the anti-Iran sanctions that the deal had lifted. He also placed additional sanctions on Iran under other pretexts not related to the nuclear case as part of his maximum pressure campaign.

Following a year of strategic patience, Iran decided to let go of some of the restrictions on its nuclear energy program, resorting to its legal rights under the JCPOA, which grants a party the right to suspend its contractual commitments in case of a non-performance by the other side.

The US administration of President Joe Biden had voiced a willingness to compensate for Trump’s mistake and rejoin the deal, but it has retained the sanctions as leverage.

Envoys from Iran and the P4+1 group of countries - Britain, France, Russia, and China plus Germany - have been holding negotiations in the Austrian capital for roughly 10 months in a bid to resurrect the JCPOA.

The eighth round of the talks has been put on pause as diplomats returned to their capitals for consultations.

Elsewhere in the conversation, the Iranian foreign minister welcomed the deepening of cooperation with Japan in various fields.

The top Iranian diplomat expressed hope that he would pay a visit to Tokyo at the earliest to hold talks with Japanese authorities on the promotion of all-out ties.

The Japanese foreign minister, for his part, said his country supports the Vienna talks to remove the sanctions that the United States has imposed on Tehran.

He urged all parties to the Vienna negotiations to take serious measures to fulfill their commitments as per the JCPOA and seize the existing opportunity to reach a final agreement.

Pointing to historical and very important relations between Tehran and Tokyo, he said the two sides have appropriate capacities to strengthen economic cooperation after the removal of the existing obstacles.

The top Japanese diplomat invited his Iranian counterpart to travel to Tokyo.

The two ministers also exchanged views on issues of common interest in regional and international arena as well as ways to promote peace and stability in the region and agreed to continue close communication.

In a phone call in December, the Iranian and Japanese foreign ministers discussed the Vienna talks, various issues of mutual interest as well as regional and international developments.