A senior nuclear negotiator has said Iran and the six major powers will resume their nuclear talks in a European city in less than two weeks with "differences on major issues" still remaining.
"We have been able to have a much better understanding in a constructive atmosphere but there are differences on major issues," Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an interview with Kyodo News published on Monday.
No significant progress was made in the most recent round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) on a final nuclear deal, which was held in New York from September 19 to 26 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The talks are aimed at building on an interim accord reached in Geneva last November under which Iran scaled down its nuclear activities for six months in exchange for limited sanctions relief. The Geneva agreement came into force on January 20 and was extended for four months just before its expiration.
Iran and the major powers have set a target date of November 24 to work out a long-term settlement to the dispute over Tehran's nuclear program, which has dragged on for over a decade.
The future scope of Tehran's uranium enrichment program, the duration of the final deal, and the mechanism for the lifting of the sanctions on Iran are the main stumbling blocks in the talks.
