"We have fairly serious hope and, in my opinion, thoughtful optimism that we will be able to achieve a result [in terms of restoring the JCPOA]. At least that's what everyone wants, including the United States and Iran," Lavrov said at a Saturday press briefing at the UNGA.
Earlier this week, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian declared their readiness to resume negotiations on the nuclear deal in Vienna as soon as possible, after meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA.
On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden said that Washington was ready to return to compliance with the JCPOA if Tehran agrees to do the same.
In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or the Iran nuclear deal) with the P5+1 group of countries (the United States, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom - plus Germany) and the European Union.
The deal required Iran to scale back its nuclear program and severely downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including lifting the arms embargo five years after the deal's adoption. In 2018, the US abandoned its conciliatory stance on Iran, withdrawing from the JCPOA and implementing hard-line policies against Tehran, prompting Iran to largely abandon its obligations under the accord.