Iran's FM Urges Parties in Nuclear Talks to Drop Excessive Demands
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on the parties engaged in talks with Tehran over its nuclear energy program to refrain from making excessive demands in order to pave the way for a long-awaited agreement.
"All of the negotiating sides should avoid excessive demands and claims beyond the international frameworks to make achievement of an agreement possible," Zarif, also Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, told reporters upon his arrival in Luxembourg on Monday.
Zarif is in Luxemburg to meet his counterparts form Britain, France and Germany and the European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to discuss the latest status of nuclear negotiations and the procedures for reaching a final deal.
"There still remain differences, some of which are technical and some political. However, we are trying to finish the job as soon as possible," the Iranian minister added.
Zarif also made it clear that the importance of striking a "good deal" outweighs a possible extension of an end-June deadline for a couple of days.
He also noted that regional issues, such as the developments in Yemen and Syria, will be discussed in today's meetings in Luxembourg.
Meanwhile, Mogherini told journalist in Brussels that she meets Zarif, Britain's Philip Hammond, Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier and France's Laurent Fabius to "discuss the main issues open as we are entering the last stage of negotiations on the Iranian nuclear deal."
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) are negotiating to hammer out a lasting accord that would end more than a decade of impasse over Tehran's civilian nuclear program.
On April 2, the two sides reached a framework nuclear agreement in Lausanne, Switzerland, with both sides committed to push for a final deal until the end of June.
