Iran, Sextet to Seize Every Opportunity for Progress in Nuclear Talks: Zarif
VIENNA (Tasnim) – Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stressed on Wednesday that Tehran and world powers will take advantage of any opportunity for further progress in the ongoing negotiations over the country's nuclear energy program.
"We have made progress and we will make progress and we will use every opportunity to make progress," Zarif told reporters after his bilateral talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Vienna, capital of Austria.
He also touched upon the upcoming trip of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano to Tehran, saying, "We invited Mr. Amano to go to Iran to work with our officials on how to proceed."
Amano will leave Vienna for Tehran on Wednesday for meetings with President Hassan Rouhani and other senior Iranian officials on Thursday, the IAEA said.
According to an IAEA press release, discussions are expected to address ongoing cooperation between the IAEA and the Islamic Republic of Iran under the Framework for Cooperation.
The talks will also focus on how to accelerate the resolution of all outstanding issues related to Iran's nuclear program, including clarification of "possible military dimensions" (PMD), the IAEA reported.
The visit will take place in the context of the IAEA's continued engagement with Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, US, Britain, France, and Germany) as they work towards a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran and the sextet are in talks to hammer out a lasting agreement to end more than a decade of impasse over Tehran's civilian nuclear program.
They have held several rounds of talks in recent months, mostly in Vienna and the Swiss cities of Geneva and Lausanne.
The two sides have extended the talks for seven days after the self-imposed June 30 deadline expired on Tuesday night.