No Deal Better than Bad Deal: Iran’s Nuclear Negotiator
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – As the talks between Iran and world powers over the country’s nuclear energy program are underway in Vienna in final stages, a senior Iranian negotiator stressed that Tehran would only favor one good deal that respects its red lines.
The Iranian negotiating team would prefer to return to Tehran empty-handed if it does not achieve a deal that respects the country’s red lines by the extended deadline of July 7, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi said.
“We are ready, however, to stay in Vienna and continue the talks (as long as a good deal is reached),” Araqchi said in a televised interview with IRIB on Saturday.
As regards any further extension of the talks beyond July 7, Araqchi said the two sides are doing their best to conclude the talks by Tuesday as “the extension of negotiations is not a desirable option for neither side of the talks”.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France, and Germany) have been negotiating over the past 22 months to end more than a decade of standoff over Tehran's civilian nuclear program once and for all.
The two sides are busy negotiating in the Austrian capital of Vienna to clinch a comprehensive nuclear deal.
On Tuesday, the parties gave themselves an extra week beyond an end-June deadline to nail down details of the long-awaited accord.