Iranian, US Diplomats Hold Nuclear Talks in Geneva
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Delegations from Iran and the US kicked off a new round of bilateral talks on Tehran’s nuclear energy program in the Swiss city of Geneva on Friday. The meetings are held at the level of deputy foreign ministers.
The Friday meeting in Geneva, home to one of the four headquarters of the United Nations, started at 11:30 a.m. local time.
The Iranian team is led by Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi, while US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman heads the American delegation.
The deputy-level talks will continue on Saturday, but Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry will reportedly join the negotiations on Sunday and Monday, Araqchi had announced Thursday.
After the fourth day, representatives of the other members of the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) will likely join the talks, the Iranian diplomat had announced.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as P5+1 and E3+3) are in talks to hammer out a final agreement to end more than a decade of impasse over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has affirmed that any nuclear deal between Iran and world powers should be implementable, stressing that "no deal will be better than a bad one," including a two-phased agreement.