Iranian Top Negotiator Says Nuclear Talks On Right Track With Challenges Ahead

Abbas Araqchi

TEHRAN, Apr 28 (NNN-IRNA) – Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, said, the process of talks aimed at reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is “on the right track,” yet there are still important challenges to address, Iranian media reported.

Araqchi, head of the Iranian delegation, made the remarks after he and negotiators from Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany met within the framework of the JCPOA Joint Commission, in the Austrian capital Vienna yesterday.

On Tehran’s position, with regard to the Iran nuclear deal, “the United States must first lift all sanctions, and Iran will return to its obligations, only after verifying the lifting of U.S. sanctions,” Araqchi said.

“We can see enough seriousness in all delegations,” he said, adding, “everybody is serious enough to work hard in order to come to a conclusion.” Especially, “we have common positions with Russia and China on many Issues, almost on all issues, and there is a good understanding between the three delegations, and we have very close cooperation,” the Iranian negotiator added.

According to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, participants in the JCPOA Joint Commission’s talks decided yesterday, to speed up the process of negotiations, and agreed that the activities of expert groups continue in a fast and intensive way, in the two domains of “removal of sanctions” and “nuclear issues.”

They also decided to form a working group to discuss practical arrangements for the removal of the U.S. sanctions against Iran and its return to the deal, the statement added.