nuclear-news

An EU spokesperson said the talks were aimed at “further deepening” knowledge on the issues, and contributed to preparations for the high-level political negotiations on a comprehensive agreement in Vienna starting May 13. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the talks.

Iran’s U.N. Mission said the two-day experts meeting ended Wednesday. Hamid Baeidinejad, the Foreign Ministry’s director for political and international security affairs who led the Iranian delegation, did not comment on the talks.

While hopes are rising that an agreement can be reached, the toughest issues must still be negotiated, and any deal could still fall apart.

Russia, the U.N. nuclear agency, and outside experts tracking negotiations agree that the Iranians are cooperating, answering questions that they previously avoided, and appear to want an agreement that ends crippling sanctions.

In another positive sign, Iran said Sunday that international nuclear inspectors plan to visit a uranium mine and a uranium-thickening facility in Iran in the coming days, which would fulfill demands made by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog…….. The two sides are working toward a permanent agreement by July 20 that would cap Iran’s enrichment program, reduce its stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium and turn some of it into a solid form which is less usable in bomb-making, and curb other atomic activities in exchange for lifting all sanctions. http://www.philstar.com/world/2014/05/09/1321134/eu-6-party-nuclear-talks-iran-were-useful