European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and US State Secretary Antony Blinken (not pictured) speak to the media ahead of a meeting at the EU Council Building in Brussels, Belgium, March 4, 2022. Olivier Douliery/Pool via REUTERS

G7 leaders will discuss the prospect of reviving the Iran nuclear talks after the European Union’s foreign policy chief met senior officials in Tehran to try to unblock the stalled negotiations, a French presidency official said on Sunday.

Iran‘s indirect talks with the United States on reviving the 2015 nuclear pact will resume soon, the Iranian foreign minister said on Saturday amid a push by the Josep Borrell to break a months-long impasse.

The official said discussions would take place on Sunday at a dinner between the leaders of the Group of Seven rich nations with more detailed talks taking place on Tuesday morning between France, Britain, Germany and the United States.

The three European powers are parties to the nuclear deal, which then-US President Donald Trump pulled out of in 2018. Under the accord Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear programme in return for relief from economic sanctions.

The pact appeared close to being revived in March when the EU – which is coordinating negotiations – invited foreign ministers representing the accord’s parties to Vienna to finalise an agreement after 11 months of indirect talks between Tehran and President Joe Biden’s administration.

But the talks have since been bogged down, chiefly over Tehran’s insistence that Washington remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), its elite security force, from the US Foreign Terrorist Organization list.

“Talks have intensified between our teams,” said the French official, adding that it was crucial to revive the pact for the nuclear non-proliferation benefits, regional security and also to see how it all fits into the question of high oil prices.