Iranian nuclear negotiators, headed by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, (3rd R) meet the US delegates, headed by Secretary of State John Kerry (3rd L) in the Swiss city of Lusanne, March 17, 2015.[/caption]Iran and the United States have kickedoff the fifth day of intensive talks in the Swiss city of Lausanne in an attempt to bridge differences on the outstanding issues pertaining to Tehrans nuclear program.
The talks on Thursday are led by Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Zarifs deputies, Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht-e Ravanchi, special assistant to Iran's president, Hossein Fereydoun and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman are also present duringthe fifth day of nuclear talks.
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi and US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz had already begun one-on-one talks earlier in the morning.
On Wednesday night, two separate meetings were held in the lakeside city; one between Zarif, Kerry, and the European Union deputy foreign policy chief, Helga Schmid, and another between Salehi and Moniz.
Zarif was accompanied by his deputies and Fereydoun, while Sherman joined Kerry during the talks.
On Wednesday morning, Salehi and Moniz opened a new round of high-level technical talks.
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi (L) meets with US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz in the Swiss city of Lausanne on March 18, 2015. On Tuesday, Salehi said that Tehran and Washington hadresolved their differences over 90 percent of the issues in the talks.
We have reached mutual understanding on 90 percent of technical issues, Salehi told IRIB news, adding that there remains only a singlesticking point, which is very important.
The latest round of negotiations overthe Iranian nuclear program kicked off in the Swiss city on Sunday with Salehi and Moniz holding high-level technical talks. Experts from Iran and the US as well asthe AEOI spokesman, Behrouz Kamalvandi, also participated in the meeting.
Iran and the P5+1 countries the United States, Britain, France, China, and Russia plus Germany are seeking to seal a comprehensive nuclear deal by July 1. The two sides have already missed two self-imposed deadlines for inking a final agreement since they signed an interim accordin the Swiss city of Geneva in November 2013.
By Press TV
