The nuclear negotiating team, led by Deputy Foreign Ministers Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi, arrived in Vienna on Wednesday for a new round of talks with the major powers aimed at working out the details of a prospective accord to resolve the long-running dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program, which is set to be finalized by a June 30 deadline, Fars news agency reported.
The talks started with a meeting between the deputy foreign ministers and EU Political Director Helga Schmid on Wednesday and will continue until Friday. The Vienna talks are the fourth round of meetings to draft the text of the final deal.
Iran and its international negotiating partners (the United States, France, Britain, Germany, China and Russia) reached a preliminary agreement on the outline of the deal in the Swiss city of Lausanne on April 2. In a regular press briefing on Wednesday, the foreign ministry spokesperson said the negotiators will not agree to any demand that goes beyond the outline agreement.
In response to reports that the United States has made new demands regarding the Fordo nuclear facility and the scope of the inspections of nuclear sites in recent rounds of talks, Marzieh Afkham said, “Iran’s nuclear negotiating team will firmly stand up to any excessive demands.” Asked about the possibility of the extension of the talks on the final accord, she said, “It is not possible to make a precise prediction in this regard, but if the process of drafting texts and reaching the prospective agreement requires longer negotiations, we are ready (for an extension).”
