Iran-Powers N. Talks: November Deadline May Extend

Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi said Iran and the world powers are unlikely to strike a deal if they cannot narrow down differences in the upcoming round of talks on Wednesday, but meantime stressed that "everything is still possible, including an extension of the talks" over the November 24 deadline.

News ID: 60543

Date: 12 October 2014 - 09:00

Araqchi told reporters in Mashhad on Friday that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, his US counterpart John Kerry and EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton are due to held a meeting in Vienna on Wednesday.

"The negotiations will be held on issues like sanctions, the ways to remove them and enrichment and we hope that it will be a path to the settlement of the problems between Iran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany)," he added.

Stressing the sensitivity of the upcoming round of talks, Araqchi said, "We are not pessimistic about reaching results by the November 24 and if we don’t reach sufficient results in this round of talks (in Vienna), we will definitely be unable to attain the final result by November 24 either."

Yet, he stressed that it is too early to voice a difinitive view, saying that "there is a possibility for everything even an extension of the negotiations".

Noting that the two sides are serious about continuing the negotiations, Araqchi said, "The West should use the present opportunity well to reach a proper solution."

Earlier reports said that Iranian, American and EU negotiators are set to start a fresh round of talks in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on October 14-15.

The reports said that Araqchi, another Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi and US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman are to hold a bilateral meeting in the Austrian capital on Tuesday.

Meantime, Zarif, Kerry and Ashton will hold a trilateral meeting on Wednesday.

The 7th round of talks between Iran and the G5+1 was held in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting last month.

The two sides held six rounds of negotiations in Vienna to reach a comprehensive deal after they inked an interim agreement in Geneva on November 24.

The Geneva agreement took effect on January 20 and expired six months later on July 20. In July, Tehran and the six countries agreed to extend negotiations until November 24 after they failed to reach an agreement on a number of key issues.

Source: Farsnews