Nuclear Deal Possible if Other Side Avoids “Excessive Demands”: Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A top Iranian negotiator reaffirmed Tehran’s “goodwill” in nuclear talks with world powers, stressing that an ultimate deal on Iran’s peaceful nuclear program would be within reach if the other side refrains from excessive demands.
In a Thursday address to a gathering of Iranian ambassadors here in Tehran, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi made it clear that any permanent agreement on Iran’s nuclear case requires that the parties attend the negotiations with seriousness and goodwill and hold “rational and logical” expectations.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has entered the negotiations with seriousness, perfect goodwill and also logical and helpful ideas, and is confident that if the other side continues the negotiations with seriousness and goodwill as well and avoids excessive demands, striking a deal until November 24 will be absolutely practical,” he added.
Iran will accordingly behave in the talks “proportional to the opposite side’s goodwill”, he noted.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (alternatively known as P5+1 or E3+3) are in talks to reach a final agreement over Tehran’s nuclear energy program and the removal of unjustified sanctions against Iran.
The two sides are supposed to hold meetings in New York in September.
Iran and the sextet –Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany- clinched a landmark interim deal in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23, 2013. The agreement took effect on January 20 and expired six months later on July 20.
In July, the two sides agreed on the extension of their discussions until November 24 in an effort to achieve a permanent nuclear deal to settle a decade-long standoff on Iran’s peaceful nuclear energy program.
