Iran Focus

Tehran, 8 Jul – “Pursuing the Strategy of Destruction of Israel” is the Muslim world’s top priority, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement came as Iranian nuclear negotiators are in marathon talks with the world powers in Vienna in the hopes of signing an international agreement.

The IRGC statement, which was carried by Iranian state news agencies, called for a large turnout in Iran and other Muslim countries at state rallies on Friday which Tehran recognises as International Quds (Jerusalem) Day.

Iran Focus

Vienna, 7 Jul – Negotiations on a nuclear agreement between Iran and six major powers will be extended through Friday to provide more time for talks on a final agreement, United States negotiators said on Tuesday.

“We’ve made substantial progress in every area, but this work is highly technical and high stakes for all of the countries involved”, Marie Harf, the spokeswoman for the US delegation, said in a statement. “We’re frankly more concerned about the quality of the deal than we are about the clock, though we also know that difficult decisions won’t get any easier with time — that is why we are continuing to negotiate”.

Iran Focus

Vienna, 7 Jul – A dispute over United Nations sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program and a broader arms embargo were among issues holding up a nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers on Monday, the day before their latest self-imposed deadline.

“The Iranians want the ballistic missile sanctions lifted. They say there is no reason to connect it with the nuclear issue, a view that is difficult to accept”, one Western official told Reuters. “There’s no appetite for that on our part”.

Iranian and other Western officials confirmed this view. The foreign ministers of the P5+1 states – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States – met on Monday with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif – and were expected to meet again soon – to try to strike a deal by Tuesday night.

Iran Focus

Tehran, 6 Jul – The United Nations’ atomic watchdog and Iran held “intense discussions” in Tehran on Monday about Possible Military Dimensions (PMD) of the country’s nuclear programme, an Iranian official said.

The meeting was held as parallel talks were underway in Vienna between Iran and the P5+1 countries on the eve of a deadline for what would be a historic accord on the country’s suspect nuclear drive.

It comes just days after the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, visited Tehran to try to advance Iran’s negotiations with world powers over its nuclear programme.

Iran Focus

Vienna, 5 Jul – Crunch talks between Iran and world powers aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear program “could go either way”, US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Vienna on Sunday.

Negotiators from the P5+1 countries – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States – and Iran are in Vienna trying to strike a deal whereby Tehran would curb parts of its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Iran Focus

London, 4 Jul – Former US Secretary of State and Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton on Friday said on Friday she hoped 18 months of nuclear talks between Iran and major powers would yield a deal in the coming days to curb Tehran’s nuclear program.

“I so hope we are able to get a deal next week that puts the lid on Iran’s nuclear weapons program,” she said at a rally on the Dartmouth College campus in Hanover, New Hampshire. “Even if we do get such a deal, we will still have major problems from Iran.”

Iran Focus

London, 3 July – The head of the UN nuclear agency, tasked with monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities, is suggesting that a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has done little to advance his probe of alleged work by Tehran on an atomic weapon.

Yukiya Amano of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Friday “more work will be needed” to kick-start the investigation. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani continues to deny the allegations, reflecting the stalemate that has stretched to nearly a decade.