Tehran, Iran, June 30
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi said that the West's excessive demands are the major obstacle to the progress of nuclear talks between Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries.
"The nuclear negotiations cannot proceed on the basis of illusions," Araqchi said, Iran's IRIB News Agency reported on June 30.
He furthered advised the other side to adopt a realistic viewpoint.
"There's no disagreement over uranium enrichment inside Iran," he said, adding that the two sides only need to reach an agreement over the level of enrichment.
"Iran wants all sanctions lifted in the shortest possible time," Araqchi explained.
"The upcoming talks with the P5+1 will only focus on the nuclear case and Iran's missile capability won't be brought up in the discussions," he said.
Araqchi said previously that the next round of talks between Tehran and the P5+1 is scheduled to be held on July 2 - July 20 in Vienna.
"Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will supervise the process of preparing the draft text of a comprehensive deal between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council," he said, Iran's Fars News Agency reported.
"If the two sides reach an agreement, the foreign minister of the P5+1 will also travel to Vienna," he said.
The P5+1 group consists of Russia, China, France, Britain, and the United States, plus Germany.
Iran and the six powers have been discussing ways to iron out differences and start drafting a final deal that would end the decade-old dispute over Tehran's nuclear energy program, Press TV reported.
The two sides inked an interim accord in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23, 2013. The next round of talks is to start in Vienna on July 2.
On June 18, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the two sides had started drafting a final deal despite the remaining "fundamental" differences, adding that if the other side shows political will, a comprehensive accord could be reached.