Iran hopes to settle key differences in fresh nuclear talks: negotiator

Iran hopes to settle key differences with the United States in fresh rounds of bilateral nuclear talks that started in Lausanne, Switzerland on Sunday, senior Iranian nuclear negotiator Abbas Aaqchi said.

"We still face significant differences. This round of talks will reveal if we are capable of solving them or not," Aaqchi was quoted as saying by Iran's student news agency (ISNA) in Lausanne, where talks started between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

"During the past two times, we made limited progress. We aim for more in this round," Aaqchi also said according to state IRIB TV.

The UN Security Council endorses any agreement reached in the talks so as to ensure it would be legally binding for all countries, he added.

However, some 47 U.S. Republican senators issued an open letter on March 9, declaring that any agreement reached regarding Iran's nuclear program will be revoked once President Barack Obama leaves office.

On Friday, Kerry said an interim deal with Iran may be possible in this round of talks if Tehran could guarantee its nuclear program would only be used for peaceful purposes.

"If it's peaceful, let's do it. My hope is that in the coming days that will become a possibility," Kerry said in Egypt before heading to Switzerland. Endit