Iranian news outlets reported that the country's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, was back in Tehran on "a short visit for routine consultations" pertaining to talks in Vienna on restoring the Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.  

Iranian officials have said that while the senior diplomat is home, expert-level talks and informal meetings will continue to be held in the Austrian capital. But Enrique Mora, the European Union's representative to the talks, tweeted, "There are no longer 'expert level talks.' Nor 'formal meetings.'" He noted that what is left to be done to wrap up the talks is "political decisions" and that "the rest is noise."

The Iranian chief negotiator's return was a message to many at home that chances for a deal are getting dimmer. Iran's foreign exchange market, which has typically reacted to every major development in the course of nuclear talks, woke up to a fresh devaluation of the national currency despite days of bounce-backs amid earlier positive reports.

While speculation was rife last week that a deal was around the corner, a last-minute condition set by Russia complicated the prospects and was seen as a spoke in the wheels of a potential agreement. In light of the Western sanctions levied on Moscow over its war on neighboring Ukraine, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov demanded that under a new Iran deal, those penalties would not hamper Russia's trade and military ties with the Islamic Republic.