No nuclear deal unless agreement reached on ‘everything’: Iran diplomat

A senior Iranian nuclear negotiator says Tehran and the P5+1 group need to agree “on everything” during their discussions in order to strike a binding comprehensive accord on Tehran’s nuclear program.

In an interview with Press TV on Thursday, Hamid Baeidinejad, director general for political affairs at Iranian Foreign Ministry, dismissed speculations that Tehran and the P5+1 – Russia, China, France, Britain, the US and Germany – were holding talks on a “single issue.”

“There are several very important issues being discussed and we hope that we can reach a solution on those,” said Baeidinejad, stressing, “There’s no agreement unless there’s agreement on everything.”

The Iranian official made the remarks after the end of the fifth day of Iran-US nuclear negotiations, which were also attended by Helga Schmid, the deputy of EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini.

The Iranian negotiator also added that the two sides are currently trying to reach “a mutual understanding on the main issues of the agreement, an understanding on mutual solutions.”

Baeidinejad also stressed that the negotiating teams are doing their utmost to reach a comprehensive deal and may even continue the talks after the scheduled time on Friday.

The two sides believe that any final agreement should be approved by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), added the Iranian diplomat.

“The UNSC issue has always been something that the sides have agreed on. They have agreed that once a comprehensive deal is signed, it will be approved by” the 15-nation UN body, he stated.

Fifth day of talks in Lausanne

On Thursday, Iran and the United States held the fifth day of intensive talks in Lausanne in an attempt to bridge differences on the outstanding issues pertaining to Tehran’s nuclear file.

The talks on Thursday were led by Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Following his talks with Kerry, the Iranian  foreign minister said the negotiations over Tehran's nuclear energy program have reached an extremely complicated point.

He also told Press TV that the Iranian delegation will stay in Lausanne as long as it is necessary.

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi, Zarif’s deputies, Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht-e Ravanchi, special assistant to Iran's president, Hossein Fereidoun, US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman and Schmid were also present during the fifth day of the negotiations.

Salehi and Moniz had held one-on-one talks earlier in the morning.

The latest round of negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program kicked off in the Swiss city on Sunday with Salehi and Moniz holding high-level technical talks. Experts from Iran and the US as well as the AEOI spokesman, Behrouz Kamalvandi, also participated in the meeting.

Iran and the P5+1 countries are seeking to seal a comprehensive nuclear deal by July 1. The two sides have already missed two self-imposed deadlines for inking a final agreement since they signed an interim accord in the Swiss city of Geneva in November 2013.

FNR/MKA/SS

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk