[caption id="attachment_155752" align="alignright" width="236"] Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd R) seen along with US Secretary of State John Kerry (2nd L), Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi (1st R) and US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz (AFP photo)[/caption]

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry have begun a fresh round of talks over Tehran’s nuclear program in an attempt to bridge their differences on the outstanding issues surrounding Tehran's nuclear program. 

Zarif and Kerry opened the negotiations in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Monday.

The meeting was also attended by head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Ali Akbar Salehi, Zarif’s deputies Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht-e Ravanchi, special assistant to Iran's president, Hossein Fereidoun, US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman together with EU's Deputy Foreign Policy Chief Helga Schmid.

The new round of talks in Lausanne came as Salehi and Moniz held high-level technical talks over Tehran’s nuclear program on Sunday. The meeting was also attended by experts from Iran and the US as well as the AEOI spokesman, Behrouz Kamalvandi.



Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the Iranian chief nuclear negotiator said technical aspects and the lifting of sanctions will be the two most important issues that will be discussed in the upcoming round of talks with the P5+1.

Zarif added that Iran and the P5+1 powers can reach a deal over Tehran’s nuclear program if the six countries show the same political will as Iran.

“In my view, if the opposite side has the same political will as the Islamic Republic of Iran, reaching a solution will not be difficult,” the chief Iranian negotiator pointed out.

Iran and the P5+1 countries – Britain, France, China, the United States 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 one in the Swiss city of Geneva in November 2013.

On March 4, Zarif and Kerry wrapped up intense nuclear negotiations in the Swiss city of Montreux. Salehi and Moniz also attended the talks.

Representatives of Iran and the United States had also held three rounds of intense negotiations in the Swiss city of Geneva on February 22-23.

By Press TV