TEHRAN, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Multilateral talks over Iran's nuclear program went well Thursday but it's too early to make any grand assessment, an Iranian nuclear negotiator said.
Iranian leaders met Thursday in Geneva with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany to discuss the impasse over Iran's nuclear program.
Abbas Araqchi, one of Iran's top negotiators and deputy foreign minister, said delegates decided to continue talks Friday because of the number of "complicated issues" on the negotiating table in Geneva.
"Reaching an agreement is not an easy job and we hope that we can have good progress today and tomorrow," he was quoted by Iran's semiofficial Fars News Agency as saying Thursday. "We can say that we are in a good and positive situation but we should wait to see at what speed the viewpoints come close to each other."
A U.S. diplomat said during a background briefing Wednesday from Geneva that Western negotiators were looking to "roll parts of [Iran's nuclear program] back" and stop it from developing any further.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said there may be a military dimension to parts of Iran's nuclear program. Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes but maintains the right to enrich uranium to 20 percent purity, a level seen as a key step toward weaponization.
"We feel there is no need for concerns about our nuclear program," Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said.
The Fars report Thursday said talks in Geneva lasted about an hour.
