Bilateral talks with US were useful: Iran

Tehran, Aug 9 (IANS) The recent bilateral talks between Iran and the US over outstanding sticking points in Tehran’s nuclear programme were useful, a senior Iranian nuclear negotiator said Saturday.

“The main focus of bilateral talks with the US in Geneva Thursday was the existing differences” between Iran and the world powers pertaining to the country’s nuclear programme, Xinhua quoted Abbas Araqchi as saying.

Iranian and US delegations also discussed how Tehran and the world powers could bridge the differences and reach a common ground in their efforts to ink a permanent nuclear deal, he added.

Tehran is planning to hold a number of one-on-one meetings with other members of the P5+1 group– namely, the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany — ahead of the UN General Assembly session in New York late September, said Araqchi, deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs.

He also said Iran and the six powers need to hold “more detailed” talks in the form of bilateral meetings ahead of the next round of their nuclear negotiations.

Under an interim deal reached between Iran and the P5+1 that went into effect Jan 20, Iran would suspend some sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for limited sanction relief. The two sides would negotiate a comprehensive deal within six months.

After six months of negotiations, Iran and the six world powers agreed July 19 to extend their talks until Nov 24, as disagreements remained over Tehran’s uranium enrichment capacity, its Arak heavy water reactor and the sanctions following 16 days of negotiations in Vienna.