Iran, US envoys wrap up nuclear talks in Montreux

Representatives from Iran and the United States have wrapped up the first round of fresh talks over Tehran’s nuclear program in the Swiss city of Montreux.

The negotiations were held on Monday in an attempt to narrow differences on the outstanding issues over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran’s deputy foreign ministers Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht-e Ravanchi together with special aide to Iran’s president Hossein Fereidoun constituted the Iranian team. The US delegation was comprised of US Secretary of State John Kerry, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, EU’s Deputy Foreign Policy Chief Helga Schmid and US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

The new round of talks in Montreux came as representatives from Iran and the United States had already held three rounds of intensive talks in the Swiss city of Geneva on February 22-23 to bridge their differences ahead of a key July 1 deadline for reaching a comprehensive deal.

Iran and the P5+1 countries – Britain, France, China, Russia, and the United States plus Germany – are making attempts to narrow their differences on the outstanding issues related to Iran’s nuclear program. The two sides have missed two deadlines since an interim deal was signed in November 2013. They have set July 1 as the next deadline for clinching a final deal.