Delegations may head back to capitals for consultation: Mann

Speaking to reporters, Mann said the new round of nuclear talks started Wednesday with a bilateral meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Catherine Ashton followed by a trilateral meeting between Zarif, Ashton and US Undersecretary of State, William Burns.

Early on Thursday, the general meeting or the official talks was held attended by representatives from all parties involved, Mann said, adding bilateral and multilateral meetings are also expected to be held to bring their views closer to each other.

He said that during the general meeting, the two sides discussed how to carry out negotiations in the following days.

He added that in bilateral talks due to be held in coming hours or days, major components of talks will be reviewed.

He said that Ms. Ashton and representatives from the six world nations – known as the P5+1 – are scheduled to hold talks for further coordination today.

All members of the P5+1 want to reach a comprehensive deal with Iran by the July 20 deadline, Mann said, expressing hope that the same resolve would be seen on the Iranian side.

According to Mann, Ashton has also held talks with director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano on the role of the UN nuclear agency in settlement of the dispute over the Iranian nuclear program.