Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of States John Kerry sat down at the negotiating table on Sunday at 10:30 AM Vienna time (1:00 PM Tehran time) in their 11th meeting since last week to work on the text of a possible agreement over Tehran's nuclear program.
Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi, US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, deputy FMs Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Majid Takht-ravanchi as well as US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman and the EU Deputy Foreign Policy Chief Helga Schmid are also accompanying the two countries’ foreign ministers in today’s nuclear talks.
This comes as there is merely three more days left to the extended seven days the two sides agreed upon after the self-imposed June 30 deadline.
Both sides have shown optimism that a nuclear agreement is within reach.
Meanwhile, British and French foreign ministers as well as the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini will return to Palais Coburg in Vienna to review the latest progress in drafting the text of a comprehensive deal with their counterparts.
Iranian Deputy FMs Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi also held talks with Helga Schmid until early hours of Sunday in an attempt to remove the remaining brackets and loose ends in the text of a possible nuclear deal.
Araghchi said during a live program from Vienna broadcast by IRIB on Saturday that Iran needed to find a formula that would terminate sanctions before undertaking any of its own commitments.
“Of course the other side expects us to make preparations first and then they would lift the sanctions; this is one of the important issues still being discussed,” he said.
While both sides are trying to meet the July 7 deadline, Iran is not bound by the date, Araghchi said, adding that Tehran will not accept a bad deal and is looking for an agreement that respects its red lines and the Iranian nation’s rights.
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