Iran: ‘Focused’ on reaching nuclear settlement

Iran signaled that the country’s negotiators are solely focused on reaching an agreement in nuclear negotiations before the deadline later this month, according to Reuters. 

The country’s deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi made the statement ahead of talks between Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday. 

“No middle solutions exist and all our thoughts are focused on how to reach a settlement,” he said. 

The United State and five other countries are in negotiations with Iran to limit its nuclear program. Negotiators are coming up against a Nov. 24 deadline. The talks have been extended once before and date back to an interim agreement reached last year that opened the negotiations. 

“No one wants to return to the way things were before the Geneva Agreement. That would be too risky a scenario,” Araghachi said, referring to the interim agreement. 

He added: “”Both sides are aware of this, which is why I think a deal is within reach. We are serious and I can see the same resolve on the other side.”

The interim agreement last year to secure negotiations scaled back some economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for the country freezing its disputed nuclear weapons program and diluting its enriched uranium.

Earlier Saturday, Kerry said he hopes the talks starting Sunday can “close real gaps that still exist.”