Vienna (AsiaNew/Agencies) - Iran and 5+1 world powers started drafting Wednesday a comprehensive nuclear agreement but still face "many differences", Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.
A new round of negotiations between Iranian diplomats and those of the six powers (USA, Russia, UK, China, France, Germany) that opened Monday in Vienna had been "very difficult" so far.
The talks, which run through Friday, are aimed at clinching a comprehensive nuclear deal by a July 20 deadline set up by an interim agreement.
Iran's top negotiator Abbas Araqchi earlier told IRNA news agency that Iran hoped to settle all differences with the six powers by the target date.
The main sticking points are the timetable for a full lifting of crippling U.S. and EU sanctions, and the scale to which Iran would be allowed to continue uranium enrichment, he said.
The P5+1 want Iran to drastically reduce its uranium production capacity, and keep only a few hundred centrifuges active.
They want to ensure that Iran's nuclear activities are purely peaceful. In return, Iran wants the removal of international sanctions that have choked its economy.
Fruitful dialogue with Iran has become more urgent as the situation in Iraq has become harsher due to the invasion of Islamic militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) who have made sweeping gains in northern Iraq in recent days. Tehran stated its promptness to help the Baghdad government and is asking the Western world to take more responsibility on the crisis, although being contrary to a foreign intervention.