Iran, Group of 5+1 start talks in Vienna Tuesday

Talks between the Group of 5+1 nations and Iran started here on Tuesday, leading ostensibly to a final agreement deeming the Iranian nuclear program peaceful and lifting sanctions against that country. Heading the Iranian delegation to the talks is Foreign Minister Muhammad Jawad Zarif and the Group of 5+1 Catherine Ashton. Political observers have described the three-day negotiations as an auspicious occasion, better than those in the recent past, to iron out differences and making strident headway toward a meaningful resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue. Iran and the Group of 5+1 nations (i.e. the US, Russia, China, France, the UK, and Germany) had last November agreed to hatch an interim agreement whereby Iran's peaceful nuclear intentions would be fully declared in return for lifting of international sanctions against it. Earlier today, Zarif met with IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano prior to the Group's meeting with the Iranian Foreign Minister.