ABU DHABI , APR 16 -
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said he does not fear opposition
from hardliners as he leads negotiations to reach a comprehensive
agreement about Iran's nuclear program with world powers by the end of
July.
"I am optimistic" that a deal will be reached in three months, he told
Reuters in Abu Dhabi. "There is the political will to get an answer," he
added as he boarded a plane back to Tehran on Tuesday.
Iran and six world powers - the United States, France, Germany,
Britain, Russia and China - struck an interim deal in November under
which Tehran agreed to limit parts of its nuclear work in return for the
easing of some sanctions imposed on Iran for its disputed atomic
program. They have set a July 20 deadline to clinch a long-term deal
that would lead to a gradual lifting of all nuclear-related sanctions.
Iranian hardliners, unsettled by the shift to a more moderate foreign
policy since President Hassan Rouhani took office in August, have
repeatedly criticized the agreement. However, Iran's most powerful
authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has backed the
negotiations.
"The domestic audience will be satisfied if we have a good deal," said
Zarif when asked if he feared domestic pushback. "Of course some people
will never be satisfied but that is fine because we have a pluralistic
society."
In their latest criticism of the interim agreement, some hardliners
have said Iran has had difficulty receiving billions of dollars of oil
revenue unfrozen under the agreement. Majid Takht-Ravanchi, an Iranian
deputy foreign minister, rejected the assertion on Tuesday, saying
Iran's central bank has no problem accessing the funds, according to
state news agency IRNA.
Iran and the six powers ended their latest round of talks in Vienna
last week and said they would start drafting an agreement ahead of their
next meeting there on May 13.
The Islamic Republic denies accusations by Israel, Western powers and
their allies that it has tried to develop the capability to produce
atomic weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear energy program.
During his visit to the United Arab Emirates, Zarif met with officials
including Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed an-Nahyan and
Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui. Efforts to resolve the
civil war in Syria were also among the topics discussed, but officials
did not elaborate.
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