Tehran, Iran, Apr. 28
By Temkin Jafarov, Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Iranian MP has said that regional concerns are not any part of the ongoing negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.
"The general atmosphere of the nuclear talks is good," he said, commenting on the negotiations.
Last week, Iran held nuclear talks with the US, also attended by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, for three days. On Monday also, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met in New York.
Media reported that the top Iranian and US diplomats will meet on the sidelines of the 2015 NPT Review Conference in New York and will also talk about the ongoing Yemeni crisis.
"In our country the general policies of the state are defined by the Leader. Entering into regional conflicts and issues has always been among our red lines and we have no decision to discuss these topics. Also, the subject of the [nuclear] talks will be what is stated in the Lausanne announcement. Since regional issues have not been any part of the discussions, naturally they will not be of concern. We have announced that regional issues cannot be on agenda in the nuclear talks," Mehdi Davatgari, Iranian MP and member of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee told Trend April 28.
Iran and the group 5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) are drafting a final nuclear agreement. Iran and the six powers have agreed to strike the final deal by the end of June.
"As for the negotiations, we have entered into the sensitive stage of drafting the agreement. Naturally, what has been going on between the sides in the negotiations will be written. The general atmosphere of the talks can be valued as good in its own way. I believe that the sides will follow the drafting stage thoroughly as well. Anyway, there are concerns which will be lifted," Davatgari stated.
Iran and the six world powers reached a political agreement on April 2 in Lausanne, based on which a general framework was written for the nuclear agreement, and it has been settled that agreement will be reached on the details by the end of June.
Iran says that top priority in the talks should be given to the issue of sanctions and clarity about when and how they are lifted. Senior Iranian diplomat Abbas Araqchi has said that the US side of the talks clarified the sanctions removal last week.
Kerry said yesterday that the world is closer than ever to a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran. However, he asserted that a lot has yet to be done.
Edited by CN
Mehdi Sepahvand is Trend Agency's journalist in Iran, follow him on Twitter: @mehdisepahvand