The E3 Political Directors and their Iranian counterparts met on 29 January 2015, in Istanbul for a one-day meeting as part of ongoing diplomatic efforts to find a negotiated solution to end the Reuters, has reported that Iranian officials called these talks over its nuclear program as “promising” but more work was needed to settle the 12-year standoff. “The talks were very useful, positive and promising but still we are not in a position to say we made progress” senior Iranian nuclear negotiator and Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, said after the talks.
However he added that while discussing details for any mutual agreement, Iran now faces more diversity of views.
Meanwhile on the same day, Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee approved the bill aimed at ramping up economic pressure on the Iranian regime if a final deal is not reached on preventing the regime from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The panel voted 18-4 to pass the bill that would increase economic pressure on the Iranian regime starting in July if it fails to sign an agreement.
Lawmakers are holding off on a full Senate vote to see whether diplomatic negotiations with the Iranian regime yield a deal.
On Tuesday, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who co-authored the bill with Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and nine other Democrats told president Obama in a letter that they wouldn’t push the bill at least until the end of March.
Talks with the regime in Tehran have been extended until July, with the goal of reaching a framework for a deal by the end of March.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news service said Wednesday that Iranian lawmakers have proposed a bill that would scuttle the diplomatic effort if the U.S. imposed new U.S. sanctions.
