Iran's Nuclear Negotiation Team Heads to Montreux, Switzerland

The state news agency IRNA reported that Iran's nuclear negotiation team departed for Montreux, Switzerland on Monday morning, March 2, and will negotiate with American and European officials shortly. According to this report, Abbas Araghchi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi, members of Iran's nuclear negotiation team, will meet with Wendy Sherman, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, and Helga Schmid, the Deputy Coordinator for Foreign Policy of the European Union. The report states that Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization, and Ernest Moniz, U.S. Secretary of Energy, will also participate in this round of negotiations at the request of Mohammad Javad Zarif and John Kerry, the foreign ministers of Iran and the U.S. John Kerry arrived in Geneva, Switzerland late on Sunday, March 1, for nuclear negotiations and to meet with his Iranian counterpart. The negotiations between Iranian officials and American officials, along with Helga Schmid, will continue until Wednesday afternoon, and starting from Thursday, March 5, the Iranian delegation will begin negotiations with the members of the 1+5 group. Iran and the U.S. had four days of intensive negotiations from Friday to Monday of the previous week, during which, for the first time, the U.S. Secretary of Energy and the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization also engaged in discussions alongside the foreign ministers of both countries. Iranian officials have assessed this round of negotiations positively, including Majid Takht-Ravanchi, who previously stated that 'significant progress' has been made. John Kerry expressed hope on Sunday, March 1, that the ongoing negotiations would yield results and lead to 'a good agreement,' although he noted that he could not promise that the negotiations would result in an agreement with Iran. The nuclear talks between Iran and the six world powers must lead to a political agreement by March 31, and the parties will have until late June to prepare for a final and comprehensive understanding. Concurrently with the start of another round of negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated on Monday that 'the basis of nuclear negotiations is the effort to achieve common ground and mutual trust, and we believe all sanctions should be lifted at once.' Meanwhile, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, stated on Saturday, February 28, that there has been 'significant progress' in technical areas during the bilateral nuclear negotiations with the U.S. last week, but differences remain in 'other nuclear areas' and sanctions. Last week, Hassan Rouhani and several other government officials repeatedly called for the lifting of Western sanctions against Iran. For instance, Rouhani stated on Wednesday, February 25, that 'our negotiating partner must know that the end of these negotiations and the result of the agreement must be the lifting of all oppressive and illegal sanctions.' At the same time, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, predicted on February 18 that international sanctions against Iran would remain even if a nuclear agreement is reached.