Iranian foreign minister says West is to make choice between nuclear deal and pressure

Baku. 11 July. REPORT.AZ/ The Western powers of the P5+1 group of international mediators will have to make a choice between a deal or further sanctions against Iran, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in Vienna on Friday.

Report informs citing TASS, he said the change in the stances of the Western P5+1 countries and excessive demands laid on Iran made the deal next to impossible, so the western power had only two options: to strike a deal or not. He stressed that agreement and pressure could not go in parallel. "They have to opt for one," IRNA quoted him as saying.

He said that it was time the other side demonstrated its political will to sign this agreement. As for Iran, he said his country’s delegation was committed to continue the talks to finally reach a deal that would impose considerable restrictions on its nuclear programme in exchange of abandonment of all anti-Iranian sanctions.

Earlier on Friday, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran [AEOI], Ali Akbar Salehi, said in an interview with the Fars News Agency that Iran and the P5+1 group of international mediators had good chances to strike a final nuclear deal. 

"There is a high chance for agreement in the Austrian capital," Salehi said, adding he was satisfied with the progress at the nuclear talks in Vienna. "The negotiations are making progress as the two sides are doing their best to narrow down the differences."