The United States dropped its sanctions on Iran's civil nuclear program on Friday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed several sanctions waivers ahead of talks in Vienna on Monday to revive a deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The JCPOA that limits Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief fell apart when former US President Donald Trump abandoned it in 2018.

Blinken signed waivers to help push the Vienna negotiations forward

"The waiver with respect to these activities is designed to facilitate discussions that would help to close a deal on a mutual return to full implementation of the JCPOA and lay the groundwork for Iran's return to performance of its JCPOA commitments," the State Department said in a notice to the US Congress.

The waivers permit foreign countries and companies to work on civilian projects at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station, its Arak heavy water plant, and the Tehran Research Reactor without triggering US sanctions.

After Trump quit the nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, Iran gradually started violating the pact's nuclear curbs.

It has ramped up its uranium production towards what would be needed to build an atomic bomb.

Talks to restore the JCPOA at an advanced stage

US President Joe Biden made the US return to the nuclear deal a priority when he took office.

Although the US and Iran have held several rounds of indirect talks in Vienna since April last year to reinstate the pact, it was only in

January that Tehran signaled its will to take part in direct negotiations with Washington.

Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia, are also taking part in the negotiations.

Iran's has constantly said that the lifting of all US sanctions is a  prerequisite for the country's return to the deal.

"There is real urgency, and it's really now a matter of weeks, where we determine whether or not we can return to mutual compliance with the agreement," Blinken said during a joint press conference last month with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. 

"The window for finding a solution is closing," Baerbock said. 

lo/aw (AP, AFP, Reuters)