Technical Deadlocks Removed in Recent Talks with US

(FNA)- Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi announced that the technical issues with regard to Tehran's nuclear program were resolved in his recent talks with US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz in Switzerland.

"We were facing a type of deadlock in the technical negotiations and the higher-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic assumed as necessary my presence in the negotiations and holding talks with the highest-ranking official of the other side, meaning the US secretary of energy, over details," Salehi said on Saturday.

Noting that his talks with Moniz were fruitful and good steps were taken, he said, "We held talks on (uranium) enrichment, Arak research reactor, research and development (R&D), Fordo (uranium enrichment facility) and some other smaller issues."

"We took very good steps in issues related to enrichment and Arak reactor and managed to remove their fabricated concerns with the technical proposals that we raised, and we defended our national interests and nuclear industry which is a great achievement of the AEOI and those dear people who work in it," Salehi said.

Stressing that the negotiations were balanced, he said, "We can say that the technical deadlocks were removed in the two technical meetings."

The Iranian and American teams of negotiators started several days of talks in Geneva late in February. Then after two days of negotiations, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Salehi and President Rouhani's brother and senior aide Hossein Fereidoun as well as US Secretary of State John Kerry and Moniz joined their deputies in the talks.

Then Zarif traveled to Montreux, western Switzerland, earlier this week for another three days of nuclear talks with Kerry.

Representatives of Iran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) also had deputy-level negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program in the city of Montreux following the Zarif-Kerry meeting.

The talks are expected to resume in Geneva on March 15.

Both Iran and the G5+1 negotiators have underlined that cutting a final deal before the July 10 deadline is possible.