Tehnical deadlock in Iran-P5+1 nuclear talks broken: AEOI chief

A senior Iranian official says the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 group of world countries managed to break the deadlock in technical issues between the two sides during the recent nuclear talks in Switzerland.

The head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said Saturday that he was added to the team of negotiators in recent talks with international powers in order to discuss the technical issues between the two sides and help remove them.

“We were facing a kind of deadlock in technical negotiations and the top officials in the [Islamic] Establishment decided that I personally attend the negotiations and discuss the details of the issues with the US secretary of energy as the highest-ranking official on the opposite side,” Salehi told IRIB News.

Salehi and Ernest Moniz held technical negotiations in two Swiss cities of Geneva and Montreux over the past weeks. The inclusion of the two major energy officials in the talks was regarded as a major step toward sorting out the remaining technical issues before a deadline for Iran and the international powers to reach a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.

He said Iran has offered technical assurances on its enrichment activity in Arak reactor, adding that the Iranian negotiating team managed to remove the other side's “fabricated concerns” while safeguarding Iran’s national interests and its very nuclear industry.

The former Iranian foreign minister said other highlights of negotiations between him and Moniz included the nuclear research and development program and Iran’s activities in Fordow facility. He declined to give more details on the issue.

Representatives of Iran and the P5+1 group of countries – Britain, France, the United States, China, Russia and Germany – wrapped up negotiations over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program in the city of Montreux, Switzerland, on Thursday.

The two sides are seeking to seal a comprehensive nuclear deal by July 1.