Iran hopeful about nuclear deal in due time

Iran said Tuesday that it is hopeful that drafting of a possible nuclear deal with major world powers will be completed by the end of June, local media reported.

"We are making progress and hope that the work will be completed by the deadline," Iranian nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency.

Araqchi made the remarks in New York on the sidelines of the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

When the agreement is reached, a specific date will be designated for its implementation, he said, adding all the economic and financial sanctions against Iran should be lifted when the implementation of the deal begins.

Araqchi said Iran is committed to confidence-building measures and that in return, the other party has accepted "Iran's (nuclear) enrichment and heavy-water activities as well as the continuation of certain parts of Iran's nuclear program and lifting of sanctions."

Representatives from Iran and the P5+1 group, namely the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, plus Germany, will wrap up their six-day work on drafting the text of a final nuclear deal on Tuesday, he said, according to state IRIB TV.

The next meeting will resume in the Austrian capital of Vienna next Tuesday, Araqchi added.

On Monday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif said the nuclear dossier of Iran is a "fabricated crisis" and that his country is determined to put an end to the issue.

On April 2, Iran and the P5+1 group reached common understanding on outstanding issues ahead of the June 30 deadline. Endit