Iran wants 'good' nuclear deal, even if talks go beyond deadline
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E-mail Xinhua, June 23, 2015
The Iranian foreign minister, also the chief nuclear negotiator, reiterated on Monday that the country prefers a "good" deal even if it means going beyond the self-imposed deadline for clinching a comprehensive nuclear agreement.
"We have always tried to finish the job at the earliest possible opportunity. Of course, reaching a good and appropriate agreement is more important than (signing it) a few days sooner or later," Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif told Press TV in Luxemburg.
As an indicator of a good deal for Iranians, any nuclear agreement should include lifting all sanctions simultaneously, which should start with the implementation of nuclear measures by Iran, said Zarif, who is also Iran's chief nuclear negotiator.
Although Iran has announced that the country's nuclear program is "peaceful" without any possible military dimension, Tehran has "made it clear to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) that we are prepared to work with them, within the international law, to remove their concerns," he was quoted as saying.
Zarif arrived in Luxembourg on Monday to discuss Tehran's nuclear issue with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and his British, German and French counterparts.
Meanwhile, Iran's senior negotiator Abbas Araqchi is also scheduled to meet EU deputy foreign policy chief Helga Schmid, who represents six world powers, in Luxembourg ahead of the end-of-June deadline.
Talks on a draft resolution for a comprehensive deal on Iran's nuclear issue are continuing at all levels, but the progress has not been sufficient, Araqchi said on Monday.
The text of the resolution has complicated dimensions in terms of technical, legal and political issues, hence it needs thorough considerations, Araqchi said before leaving Austria's Vienna to Luxembourg, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.
"The differences over an agreement have been narrowed down to some degrees, but the progress has not been as expected," Araqchi was quoted as saying.
The Iranian diplomat said that although the self-imposed deadline for a potential comprehensive deal looms, the talks will be extended for more days.
"What is of importance for us is a proper and good deal in which all the (nuclear) rights of the Iranians are recognized and respected," he added.
On Sunday, Iranian lawmakers approved a bill urging President Hassan Rouhani's administration to secure Iran's nuclear rights in a possible deal with world powers as the June deadline nears.
Any nuclear agreement should include the complete and immediate removal of all sanctions against the country "on the day Iran starts fulfilling its obligations," Press TV quoted the bill as saying.
It also said that the IAEA will have no access to Iran's "military, security and sensitive non-nuclear sites, documents and scientists" under the additional protocol of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Any agreement with the P5+1 group countries, namely the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany, will be valid as long as these requirements are met in a potential nuclear deal, the bill stressed.
On Nov. 24, 2013, the six world powers and Iran reached an interim agreement on the latter's nuclear program, which demanded that Iran suspend some sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for limited sanction relief to buy time for diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue.
Negotiators agreed on a framework of understanding in early April and set June 30 as a deadline for reaching a final deal, after missing two previous deadlines in June and November last year.
However, Iran's top officials said recently that the country is not bound by the self-imposed deadline while seeking a "good" comprehensive deal with the world powers on the country's nuclear program.
Iran's nuclear program has long been a subject of concern for Western powers, who suspect that it's geared toward developing nuclear weapons. Iran insists on its right to develop a civilian nuclear program.
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