Iran and the P5+1 group of countries have held a new round of talks at the deputy ministerial level in Switzerland to bridge differences on outstanding issues pertaining to Tehran’s nuclear program.
Representatives of Iran and the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany took part in the talks in the Swiss city of Lausanne Thursday.
Following the talks, Iranian Deputy Foreign Ministers Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht-e Ravanch also held a separate meeting with their Russian counterpart Sergey Rybakov.
Before the meetings, representatives of Iran, the US and the European Union ended a second round of nuclear talks.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, Araqchi, Takht-e Ravanchi, US Secretary of State John Kerry, US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, and EU deputy foreign policy chief Helga Schmid were present in the second round of trilateral talks.
Earlier in the day, Salehi said he is “optimistic” about reaching a nuclear deal, “but internationally those who have an interest in more trouble and not dealing with this question have not been inactive. They are trying to make sure there is no deal.”
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