Roundup: Iran's FM cautions long way ahead for final nuclear deal

Iran's top diplomat cautioned on Monday that Tehran and the world powers still have a long way to go before reaching a comprehensive nuclear deal despite progress made in recent nuclear talks.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif describe the talks of the past three days as "serious, helpful and constructive," according to state IRIB TV.

He noted that "as long as an agreement is not reached on all issues, there will be no agreement on individual topics."

Zarif said that the next round of nuclear talks between Iranian negotiators and representatives of the P5+1 group, namely the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany, will be held on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council in the Swiss city of Geneva next week.

Official IRNA news agency, citing a member of Iranian negotiating team, reported that the exact date would be next Monday (March 2).

On Monday, the country's senior negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, told IRIB TV that Iran will quit nuclear talks if the other party aimed to impose their wills on Tehran in the ongoing negotiations.

"If the other party wants to impose their wills at the cost of diplomatic means, we will not hesitate to leave the negotiating table," Araqchi said.

The talks should meet the interests of both Iran and the world powers, Araqchi said.

Political pressures and the media hype have not forced Iran to change its position and give up its demands, he said.

It is not something new that they have used media and political space to influence the negotiating table, the Iranian negotiator said, referring to remarks made by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday, who said that Washington was ready to walk away from the talks if Tehran did not agree to the terms proving that it does not want atomic arms.

"We have already experienced this kind of rhetoric from the Americans, and it is regretful that they are repeating the same tone, as they know that it is a failed method," Araqchi was quoted as saying.

Gaps remain in their positions, but all the sides are trying to narrow them down to settle the issues, he said.

"We are determined to continue the talks with strong will unless we feel that the talks are not progressing in the interests of our country," he said.

The scheduled fresh diplomatic efforts are preceded by the bilateral engagements between the United States and Iran that started from Friday, and as well as Sunday talks between representatives from Iran and the P5+1 group, as participating sides strive to narrow remaining gaps for a solution to the decade-long standoff over Tehran's controversial nuclear program.

It has been over a year since Iran and the world powers agreed to come back to the negotiating table for the nuclear problems in 2013. However, wide differences have kept all talking sides from arriving at a final deal.

The negotiators agreed in November 2014 to extend the deadline for another seven months and aimed to reach a political framework deal by the end of March. Endit