Iran, Sextet to Convene in September
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran and the group of six world powers plan to hold expert-level talks this September as part of a new round of extended nuclear talks over the country's peaceful nuclear program, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham announced on Wednesday.
“September 1 has been set for the first round of negotiations during the extended period of talks,” Afkham told reporters during her weekly press briefing.
“Based on the agreement reached (between Iran and the Group 5+1), suspension of sanctions will remain in place and no new sanctions will be imposed on Iran,” she added.
She also emphasized that the extension of talks does not mean their failure, but it is indicative of the two sides’ political will to proceed with the path of negotiations.
On July 18, after more than two weeks of intensive diplomatic negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna, Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as P5+1 or E3+3) agreed to continue talks on Tehran’s nuclear program for another four months.
The two sides decided to extend the nuclear talks until November 24 in the hope of clinching a final deal to resolve the decade-long standoff on Iran’s nuclear energy program. The four-month extension of the talks will begin on July 21.
Iran and the sextet on November 24, 2013, signed an interim nuclear deal in the Swiss city of Geneva. The breakthrough agreement (the Joint Plan of Action), which came into effect on January 20, had given the parties extendable six months to draw up a comprehensive nuclear deal.