Iran, P5+1 Representatives Likely to Meet at UN: Negotiator
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Representatives from Iran and six world powers may hold a meeting on the sidelines of the upcoming session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York for talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, a top Iranian negotiator said.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi, who is also a senior member of the country’s nuclear team, told reporters on Monday that efforts are underway to hold the expected meeting at the level of foreign ministers.
The 69th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 69) will convene at the UN headquarters in New York on September 16.
In the meantime, Iran and the group of six world powers (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) have already planned to hold expert-level talks in September as part of a new round of extended nuclear talks over Tehran's peaceful nuclear program.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Araqchi said the two sides will likely hold another meeting before the UN General Assembly, but noted that its date and venue was yet unspecified.
He speculated that Switzerland’s Geneva or the Austrian capital of Vienna are among the cities that will possibly host that expected gathering before the UN session.
As regards the duration of a final, comprehensive deal on Iran’s nuclear case, Araqchi explained that the other side is after a long term, while Tehran calls for a shorter period for the implementation of any ultimate agreement.
“To carry out the comprehensive deal, a one-digit period will definitely suffice,” he stressed.
While Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known and the P5+1 or E3+3) are in talks to end a decade-long standoff on Tehran’s nuclear program, the Western parties seemingly want the duration of any final agreement to be two decades, but Iran insists it should be much shorter.
On July 18, after more than two weeks of intensive diplomatic negotiations in Vienna, Iran and the six nations agreed to continue talks for another four months.
The two sides decided to extend the nuclear talks until November 24 in the hope of clinching a final deal. The four-month extension of the talks began on July 21.