Nuclear talks on Iran’s desired direction: AEOI

The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says Tehran has moved the nuclear talks with the six world powers in the desired direction.

Behrouz Kamalvandi said that Tehran attained certain key objectives by using multi-layered diplomacy in the latest round of talks between Iran and the six world powers – the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany.

“It seems that both parties are satisfied…. though negotiations are very hard and they need many more expert level talks, so that we can get into the issues in more details and define a framework for the negotiations,” Kamalvandi stated on Friday.

The Iranian official said that Iran was aware of the tactics of the six countries during the course of the talks, which included intense media spin.

He said that the Iranian team was able to counter those tactics through focusing on some key, legal, technical and political issues.

Commenting on Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Kamalvandi said Tehran’s prime objective is to engage more directly with the UN nuclear agency.

He said that this would help reduce the political pressure imposed on the IAEA by the Sextet of world powers during the course of the talks.

The official also emphasized that both sides now need to prepare for intense discussions over the technicalities of the Iranian nuclear energy program.

The three-day talks in the Austrian capital, Vienna, came after the two sides clinched a landmark interim deal in the Swiss city of Geneva in November 2013. The deal took effect on January 20.

Under the Geneva deal, the six countries undertook to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period.

The two sides also agreed that no more nuclear-related sanctions would be imposed on Iran within the same timeframe