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Iran, US start 6th round of nuclear talks

Politics Materials 19 March 2015 14:49 (UTC +04:00)
Diplomatic and expert teams from Iran and the US are holding a fresh round of talks on Tehran ’s nuclear program in Laussane, Switzerland.
Iran, US start 6th round of nuclear talks

Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 19

By Umid Niayesh - Trend:

Diplomatic and expert teams from Iran and the US are holding the 6th round of talks on Tehran's nuclear program in Laussane, Switzerland.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his US counterpart John Kerry have started the new round of the talks. Helga Schmid, representing the European Union is also among the diplomats attending the talks, Iran 's official IRNA news agency reported March 19.

Simultaneously, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi and the US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz are talking over the technical issues.

The current round of talks is expected to end on March 20 before Iranian New Year holiday, however new reports suggest they could continue until March 22.

Iranian deputy Foreign Minister and senior negotiator Abbas Araqchi earlier said that the Islamic Republic nuclear team will stay in Lausanne as long as is necessary in order to "finalize the work."

Zarif and Kerry have met several times over the past four days in an effort to bridge the gaps ahead of the deadline for a final accord.

Iran and the P5+1 (the US, the UK, Russia, China, France and Germany) are aiming to reach a political understanding by March 31 in the run-up to a comprehensive deal by July 1 deadline.

After the sides failed to meet the November 24, 2014 deadline they also extended the Geneva nuclear deal, which was signed in November 2013 to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Tehran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities.

The last round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 was held in the Swiss town of Montreux in the first week of March.

The US and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon, something that Iran denies.

Edited by CN

Follow the author on Twitter: @UmidNiayesh

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