AEOI official optimistic about promising prospects of Iran's nuclear industry

An Iranian nuclear official voiced satisfaction in the progressive trend of the talks between Iran and the six major world powers, and expressed the hope that the country's nuclear industry would promote relations with the most modern nuclear states after Tehran and the Sextet cut a final deal. “If the (final) deal is reached, our cooperation with other countries in the field of nuclear technology will naturally increase and there will be a possibility to use the cooperation of more countries in developing Iran’s nuclear program,” said Deputy Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Ahmadian. He added that nuclear cooperation with other countries will help Iran significantly reduce the time and cost of developing its peaceful atomic program. Ahmadian also said that Iran welcomes the cooperation of any country in building nuclear power plants in the country as long as they are proved to be fully committed to their obligations. The official also praised Iran’s nuclear achievements among regional countries despite decade-long pressures and sanctions against the country. Iran is among the countries with nuclear fuel cycle technology and can supply fuel for its research and power reactors, he noted. The Fourth Round of talks between Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) over a comprehensive, final deal is slated for the first half of the next month. "Iran and G5+1 will hold their next round of talks in Vienna on May 13-14," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and senior negotiator in talks with the six world powers Seyed Abbas Araqchi said in a press conference in Tehran on Wednesday. On Wednesday, deputy chief negotiators from Iran and the six world powers (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) wrapped up their second day of talks in Vienna. The talks were headed by Araqchi and EU foreign policy deputy chief Helga Schmidt. The talks started on Tuesday by a session presided by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the UN headquarters in Vienna, and continued by a meeting among the deputy chief negotiators of the seven nations. The talks between Tehran and the six world powers are part of efforts to seal a final deal on Iran’s nuclear energy program. Iran and the Group 5+1 representatives had several sessions of talks in Vienna on March 18-19. On November 24, Iran and the Group 5+1 sealed a six-month Joint Plan of Action to lay the groundwork for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over the latter's nuclear energy program. In exchange for Tehran’s confidence-building bid to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the Sextet of the world powers agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against Tehran and impose no nuclear-related sanctions on Iran during the six-month period.