70% of Technical Annex of Final Iran Nuclear Deal Ready: Official
VIENNA (Tasnim) – A top Iranian official engaged in nuclear talks with world powers said 70 percent of the technical annexation of a final agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program has been finalized.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Sunday that the other 30 percent of the annex still contains brackets.
He said Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) have managed to resolve a bulk of the sticking points, but there still remain differences that have to be overcome during the future days.
His comments come as Iran and the Group 5+1 (alternatively known as P5+1 or E3+3) are busy negotiating in the Austrian capital to clinch a lasting deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The two sides 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.
Last week, Iran and the sextet gave themselves an extra week beyond an end-June deadline to nail down details of the long-awaited accord.
Meanwhile, a source familiar with the talks said the final deadline for the comprehensive accord falls on late Wednesday or the early hours of Thursday, July 9.
While Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry have held several rounds of meeting over the past three days, other foreign ministers are joining the talks in a last-ditch effort to strike a deal.
