- Iran foreign minister says he expects UNSC members negotiating with Iran over its nuclear programme to engage in a sincere effort to come to an agreement.
- Iran‘s chief negotiator Abbas Araqchi says Tehran might walk away from the talks if “excessive” western demands cause the negotiations to fail.
Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Sunday, just days ahead of a deadline for a nuclear deal, that “trust is a two-way street” and demanded good faith on all sides.
In a tweet posted on his official social Twitter account, Zarif said, “I won’t engage in blame games or spin. Not my style. What I will engage in is a sincere effort to come to an agreement. I expect the same from the world powers negotiating with Iran in Vienna.”
Zarif’s comments came several hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Austria for the final round of the P5+1 negotiations, telling reporters that significant gaps remain in the talks.
Iran’s talks with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany are aimed at a grand bargain to reduce the scope of Iran’s nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief.
Kerry said, “We need to see if we can make some progress. It is vital to make certain that Iran is not going to develop a nuclear weapon and that their programme is peaceful.”
Iran has always denied that it is pursuing a nuclear progrmamme. Zarif’s comments seemed aimed at reiterating the Islamic republic’s position that its atomic programme is for peaceful energy purposes only.
Iran’s chief negotiator Abbas Araqchi said that Tehran was prepared to walk away from the talks if “excessive” western demands cause the negotiations to fail.
An interim deal signed in November between the P5+1 and Iran expires on July 20, though it could be extended at this week’s talks to enable further negotiations.
