U.S. denies all nuclear issues with Iran solved

The United States denied on Friday Iranian reports that all disagreements over the practical details to implement a nuclear deal with Tehran were solve.

“These are detailed technical discussions; we've made good progress over the last several days. There have been a few outstanding issues, but at this point, the reports that everything has been finalized are incorrect,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a news briefing.

Iranian deputy chief negotiator Abbas Araqchi earlier said that Iran and the European Union “found solutions for all the points of disagreements.”

The United States said those statements were “inaccurate.”

The European Union, meanwhile, said that the parties have made “very good progress” in talks in Geneva on the implementation of a landmark nuclear deal.

EU and Iranian officials met on Thursday and Friday to iron out remaining practical issues to put in place the Nov. 24 deal.

“Deputy Secretary General (Helga) Schmid and Deputy Foreign Minister (Abbas) Araqchi made very good progress on all the pertinent issues,” EU spokesman Michael Mann said, referring to the EU and Iranian officials.

The officials had painstakingly pored over three outstanding issues, repeatedly breaking off discussions so Schmid could consult with each of the six countries she represented, Araqchi told Iranian TV Thursday evening.

He added, however, that any agreements had to be validated by the governments of Iran and the six world powers negotiating with the Islamic Republic over its atom work: the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany.

The European Union liaised with Iran on behalf of the six.

The Geneva deal was designed to halt Iran’s nuclear advances for six months to buy time for negotiations on a final settlement.

Under the deal, Iran will curb its atomic activities in return for some easing of the international sanctions that have
battered the oil producer’s economy.

Western powers and Israel fear Iran is seeking to develop the atomic bomb under the guise of a civilian nuclear program, but Tehran has always denied this.

[With AFP and Reuters]