Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 27
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
The recent round of talks between Iran and the group P5+1 on the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear program ended in New York without any significant progress, Mehr news agency reported Sept. 27 citing Tehran's diplomatic sources.
The sides decided to restart a new round of talks in the new future, according to the report.
Negotiators from Iran and the P5+1 comprised of Great Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany opened a new round of talks on Sept. 19 with only two months left to reach a comprehensive deal on Tehran's nuclear program.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held two hours of three-way talks with his U.S counterpart John Kerry and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Sept. 26.
The parties discussed various technical, legal and political aspects of Iran's nuclear program as well as the issue of sanctions, Iran's diplomatic source said.
The official also emphasized that the negotiations only included a nuclear issue. Such topics as extremism and anti-terrorism were not discussed.
Zarif is scheduled to accompany Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during his visit to Russia on Sept. 27.
Iran and the P5+1 sealed an interim deal for a six-month period in Geneva on Nov. 23, 2013.
Under the deal, dubbed the Geneva Joint Plan of Action, the six countries undertook to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities.
The deal took effect on Jan. 20 and expired on July 20. However the two sides agreed to extend their talks for four months until Nov. 24, 2014 to reach a permanent deal on Tehran's disputed nuclear program.
The U.S. and its western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies. The Islamic Republic has on numerous occasions stated that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, using nuclear technology for electricity generation and medical purposes instead.