Iran, P5+1 set to start 2nd day of nuclear talks in Vienna

Representatives from Iran and the P5+1 countries are set to start the second day of a fresh round of nuclear talks on drafting the text of a final agreement over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program in the Austrian capital of Vienna.

The negotiations on Wednesday are scheduled to be held between Iranian deputy foreign ministers, Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi, and European Union deputy foreign policy chief Helga Schmid, who represents the P5+1 countries.

The current round of the talks started on Tuesday at the level of expert negotiators from the two sides with Hamid Ba’eedinejad, who serves as the director general for political affairs at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, leading the Iranian experts team in the talks.

After the talks on Tuesday, Ba’eedinejad evaluated the negotiations between the experts as helpful.

“Useful discussions were held during the meeting,” the Iranian negotiator said.

The fresh round of the talks will continue until Friday and may be attended by deputy foreign ministers from the P5+1 group as well.

Iran and the P5+1 group – the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany – wrapped up their last round of talks in Vienna on May 22.

The two sides are seeking to finalize by the end of June the text of a comprehensive deal on Iran’s nuclear program.