Vienna/Paris  

US and Iranian officials clashed on Friday over what sanctions the United States should lift to resume compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, with Washington predicting an impasse if Tehran sticks to a demand that all sanctions since 2017 be removed. 

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The two nations laid out tough stances as indirect talks in Vienna on how to bring both back into full compliance with the agreement wound up for the week, with some delegates citing progress. 

The talks, in which European Union officials are shuttling between the remaining parties to the deal and the United States, aim to restore the bargain at the core of the agreement - restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of US and other international sanctions. 

The United States was the first to renege on that bargain under then-President Donald Trump, who vehemently opposed the deal and sought to wreck it. He pulled out, reimposed the sanctions that were lifted, and brought in many more. Iran responded by breaching many of the nuclear restrictions. 

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"All Trump sanctions were anti-JCPOA and must be removed—w/o distinction between arbitrary designations," Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Twitter, referring to the deal by its full name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 

The United States says it is prepared to lift 'sanctions that are inconsistent with the JCPOA'. While it has declined to elaborate, that appears to exclude sanctions formally unrelated to nuclear issues covered by the deal. 

A senior US State Department official told reporters the United States had seen some signs of Iranian seriousness about returning to the nuclear pact but 'certainly not enough’. 

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"If Iran sticks to the position that every sanction that has been imposed since 2017 has to be lifted or there will be no deal, then we are heading towards an impasse," the senior US official told reporters on a conference call. 

Whether the statements are opening gambits or more firm positions remains to be seen. European officials said Iran was bargaining hard at the outset. 

(With inputs from agencies)