Talks paused for ‘political decisions’

The latest round of talks to salvage the Iran nuclear deal have been put on pause, the European Union's coordinator said, calling for "political decisions" to break the deadlock.

Diplomats have been meeting in the Austrian capital for several weeks straight in the search for a breakthrough to revive the 2015 deal involving Iran, the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

The EU has played the role of mediator and the bloc's Enrique Mora tweeted, "Participants will go back to capital(s) for consultations and instructions to come back next week. "Political decisions are needed now."

The sentiment was shared by chief negotiators for Britain, France, Germany and Russia.

The 8th round is expected to resume next week.

Talks to rescue the faltering accord began in the Austrian capital in April and, after a five-month suspension, resumed in November.

There have been signs of progress in the latest round of talks. On Monday, Iran for the first time said it was open to direct negotiations with the US, which quickly declared itself ready to hold talks "urgently".

France on Friday saw signs the talks could now succeed.

Washington has remained cautious with Brett McGurk, the top White House official on the Middle East, warning Thursday the negotiations could still "collapse very soon".

"There's a chance for a deal and there's also a pretty good chance there's not going to be a deal -- and I will tell you we are prepared for either scenario."