A top nuclear negotiator of the Iranian regime said Saturday that “disagreements over serious questions” persisted in the latest talks with the world powers.
“After two rounds of negotiations with the European representatives, our positions have not been reconciled and disagreements over serious questions still exist,” said Majid Takht-Ravanchi.
His remarks came after the Iranians and their European counterparts exchanged views Thursday in Vienna ahead of negotiations in New York on September 18.
Following the meeting on Thursday, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters that the differences remain ‘big’. “We have a difficult road to go,” he said.
Last November in Geneva, the Iranian regime and the six powers reached an interim agreement under which Tehran won some easing of sanctions in return for halting its most sensitive nuclear work.
But they failed to meet a July 20 target for a comprehensive agreement under which the regime would further curb its atomic activities in exchange for a gradual lifting of sanctions, and they set a new deadline of November 24.
A Vienna-based diplomat on Friday ruled out a new extension of the negotiations if there is no agreement by then, saying it was a “hard deadline”, according to a report by Reuters.
