Vienna talks on Iran ‘useful’, but differences remain

The "substantive" round of talks on Iranian nuclear issues in Vienna has touched upon some controversial problems, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iran's foreign minister Javad Zarif said on Wednesday in a joint statement after the two-day meeting

Ashton and Zarif said the "useful" talks covered core issues surrounding the Iranian nuclear standoff with the West, including enrichment, a heavy water reactor, and possible relief of sanctions on Iran.

Ahead of the talks on Monday, Zarif had said uranium enrichment in Iran would be main topic of the new round of nuclear talks with the world powers.

The latest round of talks between Iran and 'P5+1', as the group of six developed nations in the talks has been dubbed, aims at reaching a comprehensive nuclear deal. Issues such as uranium enrichment inside Iran as well as the Arak heavy water reactor in central Iran will be discussed, Zarif told the official IRNA news agency upon arrival in the Austrian capital.

Western nations are asking Iran to significantly scale back its nuclear program to ensure the peaceful nature of Tehran's nuclear plan. They are suspicious of plutonium enrichment at the Arak heavy water reactor.

Iran on its part wants the West to relieve sanctions imposed on the country.

A senior US official involved in the talks told reporters after Wednesday's meeting that the US and Iran understood each other better than before through the talks.

"We understand each other's stand," the official said, but added that the US could not accept a heavy water reactor in Iran.

Iran and the six powers to the meeting - the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany - agreed that the next round of talks would reconvene on 7 May in Vienna, which would continue to discuss thorny issues.