Associated Press: Iran and 1+5 Reach Preliminary Agreement on Lifting Sanctions

Several diplomats have told the Associated Press that the Islamic Republic and world powers have reached a preliminary agreement on how to lift sanctions against Iran. According to this report published on Saturday, July 4, the agreement on the manner and timing of lifting U.S. and international sanctions against Iran is one of five annexes that will be attached to the comprehensive and final agreement regarding the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. According to diplomats, the foreign ministers of the seven countries involved in the negotiations still need to approve this agreement. Hannah Kavyani, a reporter for Radio Farda in Vienna, the site of the nuclear talks, says that Iranian diplomats and world powers have so far refrained from officially confirming or denying this report. Nevertheless, some Iranian sources have denied this news. According to Ms. Kavyani, foreign ministers who are not present at the negotiations will join the talks starting Sunday. A senior U.S. official has also told reporters that even if technical solutions are found at the expert level, other issues remain that can only be resolved by the ministers. Tuesday, July 7, is the last opportunity for Russia, China, the U.S., France, Germany, the U.K., and Iran to reach a final agreement on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. The United Nations Security Council, the European Union, the U.S., and other countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Iran in recent years due to the Islamic Republic's lack of flexibility regarding the suspicious aspects of its nuclear program. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has previously emphasized that the goal of the nuclear talks has been the lifting of sanctions.