Iran’s National Interests Upheld in Talks, Top Nuclear Official Says


TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) gave an assurance that the country’s national interests have been protected in the nuclear talks with six world powers.

Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Friday, Salehi said the nature of Iran’s nuclear industry has been preserved in talks with the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

Referring to his recent meeting with US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz in Geneva, Salehi said they reviewed “the technical issues which had somehow reached a deadlock.”

He noted that settlement of the technical subjects will in turn facilitate talks on the legal and political issues.

Salehi, however, hinted at a “sensitive” task in the course of technical talks, namely creating a balance between protection of own interests and allaying the “fake” concerns of the other side.

“We achieved very good results in the Geneva talks and made great strides, but there are still cases that should be discussed,” he added.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as the P5+1 or E3+E) are in talks to hammer out a final agreement to end more than a decade of impasse over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.

The two sides held bilateral and multilateral negotiations in the Swiss city of Geneva earlier in February to narrow the remaining differences ahead of a deadline for a final agreement by July 1.