‘Next round of Iran N talks in January’

“The negotiations next month will also be held at the deputy foreign ministers level,” said Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, who doubles as Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs.

Araqchi made the remarks after nuclear negotiators from Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Russia, China, France, Britain and the United States -- plus Germany wrapped up talks on Iran’s nuclear energy program in the Swiss city of Geneva on Wednesday.

During the discussions, which began on Monday, deputy foreign ministers and experts from Iran and the US held bilateral negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program.

Representatives from Iran also sat down for bilateral nuclear talks with delegations from France, Russia, and China separately.

Deputy foreign ministers from Iran, Germany, Britain and France also held quartet talks on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.

The three-day Geneva discussions were organized three weeks after Tehran and the six countries failed to reach a final agreement by a November 24 deadline.

Despite making progress, Iran and the six countries failed to clinch a final nuclear deal during their previous talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna.

However, Tehran and the P5+1 agreed to extend their discussions for seven more months until July 1, 2015. They also agreed that the interim deal they had signed in Geneva last November remain in place during the negotiations.
/SR