Abbas Araghchi: Iran nuclear talks to be held in January

A senior Iranian nuclear negotiator says the next round of nuclear talks between Tehran and P5+1 will be held at the deputy level in January.

“The negotiations next month will also be held at the deputy foreign ministers level,” said Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, who also acts as Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs.

Araghchi made the remarks after nuclear negotiators from Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — Russia, China, France, Britain and the United States — plus Germany wrapped up talks on Iran’s nuclear energy program in the Swiss city of Geneva on Wednesday.

During the discussions, which began on Monday, deputy foreign ministers and experts from Iran and the US held bilateral negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Representatives from Iran also sat down for bilateral nuclear talks with delegations from France, Russia, and China separately.

Deputy foreign ministers from Iran, Germany, Britain and France also held quartet talks on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

The three-day Geneva discussions were organized three weeks after Tehran and the six countries failed to reach a final agreement by a November 24 deadline.

Despite making progress, Iran and the six countries failed to clinch a final nuclear deal during their previous talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna.

However, Tehran and P5+1 agreed to extend their discussions for seven more months until July 1, 2015. They also agreed that the interim deal they had signed in Geneva in November 2013 remain in place during the negotiations.