29-03-2024 12:00 PM Jerusalem Timing

Clinching Good Deal Better than Sticking to Deadline: Iranian Source

Clinching Good Deal Better than Sticking to Deadline: Iranian Source

Al-Manar reporter in Vienna said that negotiating teams in the nuclear talks are focusing on a good deal rather than sticking to a deadline.

Al-Manar reporter in Vienna, the venue of nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers, said that there is possibility to pass the deadline of the awaited deal, noting that the negotiating teams are focusing on a good deal rather than sticking to a deadline.

Quoting a source within the Iranian delegation to Vienna, our reporter said that the July 7 deadline is not “set in a stone.”

“The deadline put by the world powers is not set in a stone. Iran is serious in talks during the coming days,” the Iranian source told al-Manar reporter, Ahmad al-Haj Ali.Nuclear talks

The source meanwhile, stressed that clinching a good deal is quite better than sticking to a deadline.

In what has become a high-stakes game of diplomatic poker, the Foreign ministers of the world powers met twice Monday with the Iranian delegation led by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for a total of almost three hours.

For his part, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said when asked whether Tuesday's deadline may slip: "I would say that it's certainly possible."

State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington that Tuesday was "not a deadline. It was an extension of basically seven days of the parameters" of an April 2 framework accord struck in Lausanne.

But he refused to be drawn on what might happen on Tuesday, insisting: "Everybody is still I think rowing on the oars here to try to get a deal done, but it's got to be the right deal."

‘Major Steps’ Taken to Resolve UN Concerns
On the other hand, an Iranian spokesman said Tuesday that Tehran UN nuclear monitors took a "major step" toward resolving remaining issues regarding the Islamic republic's nuclear program.

The 24-hour visit to Iran by experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday followed a similar trip last week by its chief executive Yukiya Amano, but no clear outcome was reached.

Quoted by the official IRNA news agency, the spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Behrouz Kamalvandi, said progress was made but he gave no details on the latest discussions.

"Iran and the IAEA took a major step in resolving the outstanding issues to reaching a fundamental understanding on the topics and the timing of cooperation," he said.

Kamalvandi described Monday's meetings as "constructive and forward-looking" and said the second IAEA visit "shows the serious determination of both sides to enhance cooperation."