Geneva : The US and Iranian officials held another round of bilateral talks Thursday over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.
The meeting between the two sides came after Iran and the P5+1 group comprising the US, China, France, Russia, Britain and Germany failed to meet a deadline of July 20 to reach a comprehensive agreement, Xinhua reported.
US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman led the US delegation, while Iranian deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi led the Iranian side.
Both sides noted that bilateral consultations would take place in the context of the P5+1 nuclear negotiations, but no further details were revealed.
The last bilateral meeting between Washington and Tehran was held in Geneva in early August.
Iran will also hold separate bilateral talks with Germany, Britain and France in Vienna Sep 11, Iran’s state media reported, adding that the next round of talks between Iran and the six world powers would be held in New York Sep 18.
The US and its allies accuse Iran of developing nuclear weapons, but Teheran insists its nuclear programme is for civilian use.
Under an interim deal reached between Iran and the P5+1 that went into effect Jan 20, Iran agreed to suspend some sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for limited sanctions relief.
The two sides missed an initial six month deadline to negotiate a comprehensive deal and extended the talks till Nov 24.