Iran, World Powers to Start Expert-Level N. Talks Wednesday
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Austrian capital of Vienna will bring representatives from Iran and the six world powers together on March 5 for a fresh round of expert-level talks over Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program, Iranian foreign ministry announced.
The upcoming negotiations are slated to extend over three days, until March 7, the ministry said on Monday.
The forthcoming expert-level talks between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, the US, Britain, China, France and Germany) will be held on the sidelines of a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors.
It comes after Iran and the G5+1 (also known as P5+1 or E3+3) wrapped up their latest nuclear talks in the Austrian capital on February 20.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is also Iran’s top negotiator in the talks, said both sides came up with a framework for comprehensive negotiations to reach a final agreement.
In the meantime, the two sides are gearing up for a meeting of political directors on March 17, following the negotiations among technical experts to be held this week.
The whole talks are aimed at resolving the West’s decade-long standoff over Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities.
The most recent negotiations in Vienna were follow-up to earlier talks in the Swiss city of Geneva, which resulted in a landmark interim deal between Iran and the six powers on November 24, 2013.
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.
