Iran, U.S. resume nuclear talks

/AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

Iran and the United States have started a new round of talks in the Swiss city of Geneva over Tehran's nuclear program.

Senior officials from Iran and the U.S. discussed issues of mutual interest in the latest round of nuclear comprehensive negotiations, Iranian media reported.

The Iranian delegation is headed by Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi and Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs MajidTakht-e Ravanchi. Acting Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is leading the U.S. team.

The two-day discussions in Geneva will be followed by new talks between Iran and the P5+1 on December 17 three weeks after the Tehran and the six countries failed to reach a final agreement by a November 24 deadline.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on December 15 that the West has no other choice but to lift the sanctions against Tehran.

Despite making progress, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – Russia, China, France, Britain and the U.S. - plus Germany have failed to clinch a final nuclear deal during their previous talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna so far.

However, Tehran and the P5+1 agreed to extend their discussions for seven more months until July 1, 2015. They also agreed that the interim deal they signed in Geneva last November remain in place during the negotiations.

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.

The sanctions prevent other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran. At the end of 2012, the EU foreign ministers reached an agreement to impose another round of sanctions against Iran.