Nuclear talks to continue on May 12: Iran’s Araqchi

A senior Iranian negotiator says talks over Iran’s nuclear program will continue on May 12 in the Austrian capital Vienna.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araqchi made the remarks in an interview with IRIB on Tuesday night following four days of intensive negotiations in New York.

Negotiations with the EU Political Director Helga Schmid will start on May 12 and representatives of the P5+1 group of countries would join the talks on May 15 to complete the process of drafting a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, Araqchi said.

The Iranian official added that the drafting process is moving on well but slowly, and expressed hope that a final deal could be reached even before an end of June deadline.

Araqchi noted that immediately after a possible final agreement all economical and financial sanctions will be removed, and Iran will increase the level of its global cooperation in nuclear industries, such as building new nuclear plants and water desalination units with nuclear power.

He also insisted that his country would prefer no agreement to a bad agreement.

Iran and the P5+1 group of countries — the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany — reached a mutual understanding on the parameters of a comprehensive agreement over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program in Lausanne, Switzerland, on April 2.