Iran’s technical talks with the six global powers have ended on a positive note, raising hopes that an agreement on implementing the Geneva nuclear accord could be reached shortly during political consultations.
“The last meeting ... resulted in good progress,” said Seyed Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, who was at the talks. He added: “The experts will present their reports to deputies and political directors because some of the remaining issues need to be resolved at the political level.”
The Iranian official sounded upbeat following 23 hours of marathon talks in Geneva that ended early on Tuesday.
Neither of the two sides revealed any details, but an earlier round of talks had apparently stalled over the interpretation of the Joint Plan of Action (JPA) that was signed in Geneva on November 24.
The Iranians have held the position that the JPA does not prevent them from developing a new generation of centrifuges — a conclusion that the West has not endorsed.
This was the third meeting between Iran and its interlocutors — United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — after the landmark November agreement .
Mr. Araqchi said it was likely that next week, he would meet Helga Schmid, the deputy to the European Union (EU)’s foreign affairs chief, Catherine Ashton, to discuss some issues in greater detail.