Iran has accused the UN's nuclear agency of bowing to pressure from its Western financiers to "discriminate" against Tehran, as strains persist ahead of new talks to revive the 2015 atomic deal.

"It's a reality. The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) doesn't deal with Iran as it should," Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told state television late Thursday.

He argued that organisations such as the IAEA were "under the influence of powerful countries" which "finance them and in exchange apply pressure on them".

In a phone call on Friday with EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrel, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said it would be "possible to reach a favourable agreement" if sanctions are lifted.

"We will participate in the Vienna talks in good faith and seriously," he said, while calling for "a serious and sufficient guarantee" that the United States will not leave the nuclear deal.

After a mission to Tehran this week, IAEA head Rafael Grossi said his talks with Iranian officials had been "constructive" but "inconclusive".

"In terms of the substance… we were not able to make progress," Grossi told reporters in Vienna where the IAEA is based.

Kamalvandi said the Islamic republic was "trying to stand up for its rights and to counter the negative image that they (the international community) are trying to fabricate about us".

Western countries "say we are seeking a nuclear weapon and that we must be prevented at all costs", he said.

"The nuclear industry is an essential industry and one to which we are committed. Above all, we must not give up but instead pursue our efforts," the spokesman said.

Grossi's visit came ahead of the scheduled resumption on Monday of negotiations between Tehran and world powers aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal that gave Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

The deal has been gradually disintegrating since former US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018.

President Joe Biden's administration, however, says it is working to return the United States to the accord whose other parties are Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

Iran official in Kuwait and UAE ahead of nuclear talks
Abu Dhabi (AFP) Nov 26, 2021 –

A senior Iranian official visited Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates this week, state media said, days before he heads for talks with world powers on his country's nuclear programme.

The visit by Ali Bagheri, Tehran's chief nuclear negotiator, is the first to Gulf Arab states by an official of the new government of Iran's ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi.

Shiite Iran is the regional rival of Sunni Saudi Arabia, the powerbroker in the Gulf Cooperation Council that also includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE.

On Wednesday Bagheri, who is also Iran's deputy foreign minister, travelled to Abu Dhabi where he met Anwar Gargash, adviser to the UAE president.

The discussions focused on strengthening "ties on the basis of good neighbourliness and mutual respect" and developing economic and trade links, the official Emirati news agency WAM said.

On Thursday, Bagheri visited Kuwait where he spoke of "deep ties" between the two countries, according to the official KUNA agency.

Commenting on his tour, Bagheri said there was agreement to "open a new chapter" with the UAE and to "open new horizons" with Kuwait.

The United Arab Emirates downgraded ties with Iran in 2016 amid rivalry between its ally Saudi Arabia and the Islamic republic.

Talks to restore the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers are due to resume in Vienna on Monday, after a suspension since June.

The deal has been gradually disintegrating since former US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018.

President Joe Biden's administration says it is working to return the United States to the accord.

The Gulf Arab monarchies are said to be concerned that concessions could be made to Iran in the talks.