EU confirms new Iran-P5+1 nuclear talks on December 17

The European Union has confirmed that the new round of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 powers will resume on December 17 in Geneva.

The EU diplomatic service said in a statement that the talks would be held at the level of senior officials of Iran and the six countries.

“The political directors [of the world powers] and Iran will meet again on 17 December 2014 in Geneva for a one-day meeting to continue diplomatic efforts towards reaching a long-term, comprehensive solution,” the statement said.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi first announced the date for the negotiations in a report on Thursday, saying the talks would be held at the level of senior officials in less than a week.

The next round of talks between Iran and its negotiating sides — the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany — will be held in the Swiss city of Geneva on December 17, the senior Iranian nuclear negotiator added.

In their last round of talks, Iran and the P5+1 countries wrapped up a week of intense closed-door nuclear negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna on November 24. The negotiations aimed to tackle the remaining obstacles in the way of reaching a final agreement.

Despite making progress, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany failed to clinch a final nuclear deal by a November 24 deadline during their talks in Vienna.

However, Tehran and the P5+1 agreed to extend their discussions for seven more months until July 1, 2015. They also agreed that the interim deal they had signed in Geneva last November remain in place during the negotiations.