Iranians more optimistic about success of nuclear talks: poll

As Iran and six major global powers continue negotiations on clinching a deal on its nuclear program, Iranians are now more hopeful that a deal will be reached, found a Gallup poll released Thursday.

When asked about the prospect of the talks between Iran and the European Union (EU), which was initially in the foreground of the negotiations, 70 percent of Iranians are at least somewhat hopeful that an agreement will be eventually reached, up from 58 percent in 2013, the poll found.

Only 22 percent of Iranians said they are not very hopeful about the success of the nuclear talks, down from 27 percent in 2013, according to the poll.

Though Iranians were only asked about the talks between the EU and Iran, talks are also held between Iran and the U.S., and between Iran and six global powers including the U.S., Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Because of the overlap of these talks, Iranians might have been thinking of any combination of these groups when answering the question about " current talks," Gallup said in a report.

Meanwhile, Iranians' support for continuing to develop the country's nuclear power capabilities has continued to climb, with 75 percent of Iranians surveyed holding such opinion, up from 68 percent in the previous survey in 2013.

But Iranians are divided on the ultimate aim of Iran's nuclear program, which is suspected by the U.S.-led West as an attempt to acquire a nuclear weapon though Tehran has insisted that it is solely for peaceful use.

Fifty-six percent of Iranians said they support the development of Iran's nuclear program for non-military use, compared to 42 percent who approve of its military use.

The Gallup poll, conducted in November 2014 in Iran, was based on telephone interviews with 1,005 Iranians aged 15 and older. It has a sampling error of 3.9 percentage points.

The increased optimism among Iranians about reaching a nuclear deal could reflect the limited easing of economic sanctions that took place before the survey in Iran last year, Gallup said.

Talks between Iran and the U.S., represented by Secretary of State John Kerry, were held earlier in the week in Geneva, during which they discussed further relaxing economic sanctions on Iran. The U.S. State Department announced Thursday that Kerry will travel to Montreux, Switzerland, next week to hold further meetings with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Iran and the six global powers are racing to reach a framework deal on Iran's nuclear program by March 31 and a final agreement by June 30. Endite