Iran, P5+1 preparing for new round of nuclear talks

/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

The next round of nuclear talks between representatives from Iran and P5+1 countries are scheduled for January 18.

Abbas Araqchi, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs said new round of negotiations will be held at deputy foreign ministerial level in the Swiss city of Geneva, Press TV reported.

He added that Iran’s negotiating team is also expected to hold mutual talks with delegations from the United States and Russia prior to the talks, adding that these mutual talks have yet to be scheduled.

Nuclear negotiators from Iran and the P5+1 group – the U.S., Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany – wrapped up their latest round of talks on Tehran’s nuclear program in the Swiss city of Geneva on December 17, 2014.

The three-day Geneva discussions were held almost three weeks after Tehran and the six countries failed to reach a final agreement by a November 24 deadline despite making some progress.

The two sides agreed to extend their discussions for seven more months until July 1, 2015. They also agreed that the interim deal they had signed in Geneva in November 2013 should remain in place during the negotiations.

Ahead of new round of negotiations, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was questioned in the Iranian parliament over the nuclear talks.

Zarif said at an open session of Iran’s parliament on January 6 that Tehran will never give up the nuclear rights of the Iranian nation, vowing to defend national interests of his country in the nuclear talks with the P5+1 group.

He added that nuclear negotiations illustrated an “interactive, stable and powerful” image of Iran and prevented the expansion of sanctions.

Under the Geneva deal, dubbed the Joint Plan of Action, the six countries undertook to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for the Islamic Republic agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period.

As part of the interim deal, Iran suspended 20-percent uranium enrichment as of January 20 when the agreement came into force. Iran then started to dilute and oxidize its 196-kg stockpile of 20-percent-enriched uranium.

The U.S. and EU imposed sanctions on Iran's oil and financial sectors at the beginning of 2012 due to claims of potential deviation toward non-civilian purposes in Iran's nuclear energy program. Iran has repeatedly denied the Western allegations against its nuclear energy program.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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