Iranian, Sextet Negotiators Resume Nuclear Talks in Vienna
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Marathon talks between Iran and sextet of world powers entered the 14th day in Vienna on Tuesday with separate meetings held between senior Iranian negotiators and European and US officials.
The Iranian top diplomats, Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht Ravanchi, met European Union Deputy Foreign Policy Chief Helga Schmid to work on the text of final nuclear deal between Tehran and the six world powers –Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany.
Following the meeting with EU’s Schmid, Araqchi met with US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns to discuss the ways for striking the long-awaited final deal.
Since July 2, delegates from Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as the P5+1 or E3+3) have launched a fresh round of high-profile talks in Vienna in a bid to hammer out a comprehensive deal on Tehran’s nuclear case before a self-imposed July 20 deadline.
Over the past two days, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry have also had two separate meetings, which Araqchi described as “difficult, but useful”.
Iran and the sextet on November 24, 2013, clinched an interim nuclear deal in the Swiss city of Geneva.
The breakthrough agreement (the Joint Plan of Action), which has come into effect since January 20, stipulates that over the course of six months, Iran and the six countries will draw up a comprehensive nuclear deal which will lead to a lifting of the whole sanctions on Iran.
There is a possibility that the talks on a comprehensive deal could be extended for as long as six months.
The interim agreement between Iran and the six powers includes a provision for lengthening talks on a permanent agreement as far out as next January if all sides agree. But even an extension would have to be negotiated.
