Iran seeks more from world leaders to save nuclear deal

Iran warned European foreign ministers gathering in Vienna that it would not be enough to counteract US sanctions to save the 2015 nuclear deal.

Tehran also threatened to leave the accord if it was not fully compensated for the re-imposition of sanctions.

Iranian foreign minister, Mohammed Javad Zarif, said on Twitter that the countries remaining in the deal, such as France, Germany and the UK need to "forge practical solutions" instead of making obscure promises.

The key for Iran was for Europe to ensure a steady flow of oil export revenues, and its continued access to the SWIFT international bank payments messaging system or an alternative.

US President Donald Trump withdrew earlier in the year from the deal that saw sanctions on Iran lifted in exchange for the country agreeing to give up its nuclear weapons and tests.

That had saddled the rest of the signatory countries with the task of coming up with the means of guaranteeing Iran's continued access to global energy and financial markets, in order to keep the deal from falling apart, which might see Iran re-start its nuclear program.

Europe wasn't under pressure just from Iran, with US officials saying on Tuesday that those countries planning to continue doing business with Iran would face US sanctions.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani was expected to visit Europe over the coming week and was set to hold a meeting with the rest of the members remaining in the deal, including China and Russia.

According to Reuters, on Friday an Iranian official said that they were ready for all possible scenarios.

Nevertheless, officials from Tehran weren't the only ones in a testy mood, with France's foreign minister saying: "They (Iran) must stop threatening to break their commitments to the nuclear deal. We are trying to do come up with a solution before sanctions are imposed at the start of August and then the next set of sanctions in November. For August it seems a bit short, but we are trying to do it by November."

Separately a senior European diplomat had said that: "We've made some progress, including on safeguarding some crude (oil) sales, but it’s unlikely to meet Iranian expectations.

It's also not just about what the Europeans can do, but also how the Chinese, Russians, Indians, others can contribute."