MNA – Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said Sun. that FM Zarif is likely to discuss holding of Iran and 5+1 ministerial meeting on JCPOA on the sidelines of UN General Assembly meeting in September.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 1st National Conference on Quantum Technology on Sunday in Tehran, Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Ali Akbar Salehi said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is likely to bring up plans for holding a JCPOA-related meeting with 5+1 group of countries at ministerial level on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, adding “my prediction is based on a letter which FM Zarif has recently sent to IAEA Director General and the EU foreign policy chief, which suggests the foreign ministry’s concerns about the US hostile measures against Iran.”

Salehi went on to stress, “we are confident that foreign ministry staff are pursuing the implementation of the nuclear deal in earnest and are making every effort to prevent any acts of pressure and violation that could undermine the JCPOA.”

The 72nd Regular Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 72) will convene at UN Headquarters in New York on 12 September 2017 and last until 25 September.

On Saturday, Zarif said that President Hassan Rouhani’s attendance at this year's UN General Assembly is not definite yet. Iran has been daunted by US recent measures to impose further sanctions against the Islamic Republic, deeming it a move in violation of the spirit, if not the letter, of the nuclear deal. Iranian officials have stressed, however, that they will not allow the US to put the blame for violating the nuclear deal on Iran.