Iran Seriously Pursuing Change of Nuclear Talks' Venue: MP

Rapporteur for the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy commission, Nozar Shafiee, said on Monday that the other parties to the talks have also welcomed the idea of changing the place of meetings.

A change in the venue of the nuclear negotiations is seriously pursued, he added.

Concerns about the security of the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) flared last week after the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that a computer virus, widely used by Israeli spies, had attacked the hotels hosting the nuclear talks between Iran and the six powers.

Russian-based Cybersecurity Company Kaspersky also said on Wednesday that the malware dubbed Duqu, a sophisticated spy tool that was believed to have been eradicated in 2012, appeared to have been used to spy on the talks on Iran's nuclear program.

Later on Friday, an informed source told IRIB in Vienna that "given the significance and increasing sensitivity of the talks, and as the deadline (of June 30) approaches, the negotiators are considering a change in the venue of the negotiations from Austria's Vienna to another city or even another country."

However, a source close to the Iranian negotiating team said on Saturday that he would not confirm the news about a possible change in the venue of the talks.

"Although some views have been expressed in this regard, discussions for making changes in the venue of the talks are not serious," IRNA quoted the source as saying.

Iran and the Group 5+1 are in talks to hammer out a lasting agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), end more than a decade of impasse over Tehran's civilian nuclear program.

They have held several rounds of talks in recent months, mostly at luxury hotels in Vienna and the Swiss cities of Geneva and Lausanne.