The European Union's foreign policy chief says six global powers will talk about ways to reach a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly next month in New York.
Catherine Ashton told a reporters Saturday that Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, also known as the P5+1, will hold discussions on Iran's nuclear program.
Iran and the six powers failed to meet an initial self-imposed July 20 deadline to reach an agreement, but extended the negotiations until late November.
Ashton leaves her EU job in October but is expected to continue leading nuclear negotiations with Iran. She is expected to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif in Brussels Monday.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told reporters in Tehran Saturday that fresh U.S. sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities are "not compatible" with the spirit of the negotiations with the P5+1. The U.S. Treasury announced the new sanctions on Friday.
The United States and its Western allies have long suspected that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon, but Tehran says its nuclear development program is only for civilian purposes. Iran is seeking to end crippling sanctions against its economy that the West has imposed to try to force it to abandon any development of nuclear warheads.
Some information for this report comes from AFP and Reuters.
