Zarif's final defense for Iran deal infuriates hard-liners 

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif submitted to parliament what was seen as his final report on the status of the talks over the revival of the Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

In the 213-page document, Zarif declared Iran was "only one step away" from getting the deal back on track.

Since February, six rounds of the JCPOA revival talks have been held between Iran and the other signatories, namely the UK, France, Germany, Russia and China. The United States, which withdrew from the deal under former President Donald Trump, has been involved indirectly after President Joe Biden sought to reenter the accord.

Relentlessly opposing engagement with the West, the majority of Iran's hard-liners have been in an open war against Zarif and his team since the deal was clinched in 2015. To them, the foreign minister's last report was a "justification" for a series of "failures."