Expert-Level Talks between Iran, Sextet Kick Off in Vienna
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Austrian capital of Vienna once again brought representatives from Iran and the six world powers together on Thursday, this time for a fresh round of expert-level talks over Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program, a few days before the political directors meet in the same city.
The negotiations kicked off in Vienna --one of the four headquarters of the United Nations—on Thursday evening, and are reportedly covering the whole remaining issues in connection with a final nuclear deal on Iran’s nuclear case.
The ongoing expert-level talks between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, the US, Britain, China, France and Germany) come only a few days before the political directors from the seven countries gather again in the Austrian capital to hold another round of high-profile talks.
The negotiating parties are gearing up for a meeting of political directors on April 7-9, following the talks among technical experts, now in progress.
Iran and its negotiating partners wrapped up their latest round of high-level nuclear talks in Vienna on March 19.
In the meantime, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi, who is also a senior Iranian nuclear negotiator, said all technical issues concerning the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program will be under debate in this round of the expert-level talks.
He also referred to the Arak heavy water plant in central Iran, saying, “This issue, along with its technical aspects…is one of the technical issues the details of which will be discussed by the experts.”
“These (expert-level) negotiations are held within the framework of the final step of the Geneva deal for reaching a comprehensive solution,” he explained.
The whole talks are aimed at resolving the West’s decade-long standoff over Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities.
On November 24, 2013, Tehran and the six powers clinched a landmark interim deal in the Swiss city of Geneva.
Based on the Geneva interim deal (the Joint Plan of Action), the world powers agreed to suspend some non-essential sanctions and to impose no new nuclear-related bans in return for Tehran's decision to suspend its 20% enrichment for a period of six months.
The breakthrough deal, which has come into effect since January 20, also stipulates that over the course of six months, Iran and the six countries will draw up a comprehensive nuclear deal which will lead to a lifting of the whole sanctions on Iran.
