Iran Nuclear Talks: Western Diplomats Meet in Vienna
VIENNA (Tasnim) – Top diplomats from the US, Britain, France and Germany and the European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini held a meeting in Vienna for talks over a final deal on Iran's nuclear energy program.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier, France's Laurent Fabius and EU's Mogherini met in Vienna's Palais Coburg hotel on Sunday evening.
The fresh round of negotiations for clinching a final deal on Iran's nuclear program began on Saturday with ranking diplomats arriving in Austria ahead of an end-June deadline.
Iran's chief negotiator and foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, has held several meetings with his counterparts and with Mogherini over the past two days.
The EU coordinates diplomacy with Iran on behalf of the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
Zarif is going to depart Vienna for Tehran on Sunday night and return to the Austrian capital again after a day to proceed with the talks.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (alternatively known as the P5+1 or E3+3) have been negotiating over the past 22 months to hammer out a lasting nuclear deal, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
On April 2, the two sides reached a framework nuclear agreement in Lausanne, Switzerland, with both committed to push for a final deal until the end of June.