Nuclear Talks Will Continue, Have Not Reached A Deadlock: Iran
TEHRAN, May 19 (Bernama) — Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior foreign policy advisor to the Supreme Leader, said on Saturday that he believes that the nuclear talks between Iran and world powers have not reached a deadlock and will continue further.
Iran’s Mehr News Agency (MNA) said he made the remarks after Iran and the six major powers (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) ended an “intensive” and “difficult” round of nuclear talks on Friday in Vienna without making any significant progress.
“There is a positive prospect for the talks if the major powers show goodwill, as Iran has shown,” Velayati told reporters after a meeting with French Foreign Ministry director for North Africa and Middle East Jean-Francois Girault in Tehran.
Asked about the latest round of nuclear talks, he said the talks were difficult and that the Iranian negotiating team had made considerable efforts.
Velayati, a former foreign minister, pointed out however that the talks have not ended and will continue in July and Iran hoped that the negotiations would yield to a positive result where Iran would enjoy its legitimate right to nuclear energy.
Velayati, who heads the strategic research centre at the Expediency Council, a post previously held by President Hassan Rohani said that Iran was willing to continue the talks.
Iran and the six major powers ((the US, Russia, China, France and Britain plus Germany) started a decisive round of nuclear talks on Wednesday in Vienna to begin drawing up the draft of a final nuclear deal which is aimed at resolving a decade-old dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
The Vienna talks were meant to build on the interim deal struck in Geneva in November 2013.
Senior Iranian nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi has said that the next round of nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers will take place in Vienna on June 16-20.
Iran and the major powers have set a July 20 deadline to clinch a long-term nuclear deal. The deadline can be extended for another six months.
