Iran Hopeful about Reaching Nuclear Deal by July 20

“We hope to see the result before July 20. Iran is ready to resolve all issues and sign the agreement. I think the six world powers also bear great responsibility,” he told the Rossiya 24 TV channel on Tuesday.

He said the sanctions against Iran “were unfair from the very beginning,” adding, “Iran has a right to a non-military nuclear program. This is the red line for us, and it perfectly conforms to all international rules.”

Sanaei went on to say that if there were any questions or misunderstanding, Tehran “has always been ready to show that the Iranian nuclear program is peaceful in nature.”

Delegates from Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) have launched the 6th round of nuclear talks in the Austrian capital in a bid to hammer out a comprehensive deal on Tehran’s nuclear case.

This round of talks, coordinated by the European Union, started on July 2 and is expected to run until at least July 15.

The two sides have now less than two weeks to clinch a deal by their self-imposed deadline that expires on July 20.

Iran and the G5+1 (alternatively known as P5+1 or E3+3) on November 24, 2013, clinched an interim nuclear deal in the Swiss city of Geneva.

The breakthrough agreement (the Joint Plan of Action), which has come into effect since January 20, stipulates that over the course of six months, Iran and the six countries will draw up a comprehensive nuclear deal which will lead to a lifting of the whole sanctions on Iran.

The speculation suggest that the main sticking points in the course of talks include limitations on Iran’s uranium enrichment activities, the fate of Arak-heavy water research reactor, the duration of any nuclear deal and the timetable for ending the sanctions.