Iran,P5+1 can reach final deal by deadline: Rouhani

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says if the P5+1 group shows real determination, a final nuclear agreement between Tehran and the six powers is possible before the November 24 deadline.

Iran is firmly determined to reach an agreement with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - Russia, China, France, Britain, and the United States – plus Germany by the November deadline and if the opposite side is committed as firmly, “we can come to [an] agreement,” President Rouhani told Rossiya 24 TV channel on Monday.

The Iranian president urged the negotiating partners to show more resolve, addressing particularly the United States which, he said, has been dragging its feet more than others even though all parties understand the necessity for reaching an agreement as soon as possible.

Iran and the six world powers held their latest round of talks in New York on September 18-26 to work out a final agreement aimed at ending the longstanding dispute over Tehran’s civilian nuclear energy program before a November 24 deadline.

Last November, the two sides clinched an interim nuclear accord, which took effect on January 20 and expired six months later. However, they agreed to extend their talks until November 24 as they remained divided on a number of key issues.

Senior Iranian nuclear negotiator, Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, who is also Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, said on Sunday that the nuclear talks in New York were “constructive”, although differences on major issues still remain to reach a deal before the deadline.