Iran, US resume nuclear talks in Lausanne

Iran and the United States have resumed intensive talks in the Swiss city of Lausanne in an effort to facilitate a comprehensive nuclear agreement between Tehran and the P5+1 states.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry led the negotiations on Friday, the sixth day of the latest round of nuclear negotiations.

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi; Zarif’s deputies, Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht-e Ravanchi; US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman; and US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz are also attending the sixth day of the latest round of nuclear talks over Tehran's nuclear program.

Following the morning session, Zarif said the two sides had had a good meeting.

This is while the office of EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, has announced that she will meet UK Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of an EU leaders summit in Brussels on Friday to discuss the ongoing Iran-P5+1 negotiations. 

Zarif responds to Obama

Earlier in the day, Zarif took to his twitter account to respond to a statement by US President Barack Obama. Zarif said Iranians “have already made their choice: engage with dignity” with the Western powers over Tehran’s nuclear work, adding, “It is high time for the US and its allies to choose: pressure of agreement.”

On Thursday, in his annual video message marking the Iranian new year, Nowruz, Obama had sought to throw the ball in Iran's court in the nuclear negotiations.

“Iran’s leaders have a choice between two paths … a path that has isolated Iran and the Iranian people … [and] the path of greater opportunities for the Iranian people,” said Obama.

“The days and weeks ahead will be critical, our negotiations have made progress, but gaps remain,” he added.

The latest round of negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program kicked off in the Swiss city on March 15 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.

The talks between the US and Iran are part of broader negotiations between Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries, namely Russia, China, the US, the UK, France and Germany, to reach a comprehensive agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program as a deadline slated for July 1 draws closer.

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.

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