US confess Iran seriousness in N-talks

The White House has praised Iran’s “serious manner” during nuclear talks between Tehran and the P5+1 over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program.

“Iran has come to these talks in a serious manner and to its credit Iran has defied the expectations of some by actually fulfilling the obligations under” the November 2013 interim nuclear deal, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters during a daily press briefing on Monday.

“The Iranians have also engaged in the comprehensive negotiations in a serious way and demonstrated some flexibility in the context of that negotiations,” he added.

He, however, said that “substantial gaps” remain between negotiators from Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – Russia, China, France, Britain and the US – plus Germany.

“…we’ve seen negotiators hard at work to try to resolve or try to bridge substantial gaps, there still remains quite a ways to go,” he added.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi, who is a top Iranian nuclear negotiator, said on Sunday that significant disagreements remain in the talks.

The senior negotiator noted that the issue of uranium enrichment is still a bone of contention in the talks.

Iran and the six countries formally kicked off their sixth round of nuclear talks on July 3 this year to discuss a permanent accord on Tehran’s nuclear energy program.

The two sides sealed an interim deal in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23, 2013. The deal came into force in January and expires on July 20, but can be extended depending on the agreement of all parties involved.