Iranian official says centrifuges are 'trivial' in nuclear deal
Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says deal could help build confidence between Iran and other countries fighting ISIS.
By REUTERSSatellite image shows a nuclear facility in Iran(photo credit: REUTERS)
US nuclear negotiators should stop focusing on Iran's number of centrifuges and should push for a deal, which could help build confidence between Iran and the coalition of countries fighting against Islamic State militants, a senior Iranian politician said on Wednesday."This is something like a trivial matter and we should not bargain over trivial matters," Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani told a news conference in Geneva. "This is not going to be useful, this is not going to solve any real problems."A senior US official said on Wednesday that world powers and Iran are not discussing extending a late November deadline for reaching an agreement over Tehran's nuclear program, adding there was still time to reach a deal.The State Department official spoke ahead of a meeting later on Wednesday between US Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Vienna."We're not talking about extension or anything like that in the room. We're talking about getting this done by the 24th (of November)," the US official said.Iran and the six major powers aim to end a decade-old dispute over Tehran's nuclear program by reaching a settlement to curb the country's atomic activities in exchange for a lifting of sanctions hurting its oil-dependent economy.
