Progress in nuclear talks tied to Iran-U.S. engagement: MP

MP Nozar Shafiei said on Sunday that any progress in the talks between Iran and the major powers on a comprehensive nuclear deal depends on an agreement between Tehran and Washington on the issues under negotiation. 
 
It is necessary that bilateral meetings be held between Iran and the United States to reach a general agreement, Shafiei told IRNA. 
 
Pointing to the recent U.S. sanctions measure against a number of Iranian companies, he said the move indicated that the U.S. does not have the required “political will” to resolve differences.
 
It is essential that political will and trust be built up through holding intensive consultations with the American side in order to pave the way for the success of the nuclear talks, he added.              
 
Iran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) reached an interim nuclear deal in Geneva last November. The six-month deal came into force on January 20 and was extended until November 24 after Iran and the major powers failed to meet a self-imposed July 20 deadline to work out a comprehensive deal to resolve the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program.   
 
 
---------‘U.S. excessive demands impede progress of nuclear talks’ 
 
 
MP Hossein Naqavi Hosseini has said that the U.S. excessive demands are an impediment to the progress of nuclear talks. 
 
“Excessive demands by the United States in the process of talks on a final deal and repeated violations of the Geneva accord have created problems and obstacles in the way of the negotiations,” Naqavi Hosseini, the spokesperson for the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told the Mehr news agency on Sunday. 
 
Commenting on the consultations between senior Iranian and U.S. officials in Geneva on Thursday and Friday, Naqavi Hosseini said the discussions were prolonged due to the U.S. unrealistic demands, adding that excessive demands have widened the gaps in negotiating positions.