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Iran's nuclear program

Iran insists on immediate lift of financial and oil sanctions — deputy foreign minister

The Iranian delegation expects to complete the talks until the end of the day but is ready to stay in Switzerland’s Lausanne "as long as this is needed"

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi (left) Head of Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi (center) and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi (left) Head of Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi (center) and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif

© AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool

LAUSANNE, April 1. /TASS/. Iran insists that banking, financial and oil sanctions should be on immediately lifted after signing an agreement on nuclear program, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian media on Wednesday.

"We insist that financial, banking and oil sanctions are lifted immediately [after Iran signs an agreement]. We also have to define parameters for the rest [of sanctions]," Araghchi said.

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The official said Iran and the six world powers will only make a press statement in case of a successful round of negotiations.

The diplomat said the Iranian delegation expects to complete the talks until the end of the day but is ready to stay in Switzerland’s Lausanne "as long as this is needed."

"I personally believe that we will come to a joint statement for the press by today’s evening," Araghchi said. "It won’t have addenda, but there are working drafts, and we are discussing them, but they will not be published," he said.

The diplomat said the fact that three ministers of the so-called P5+1 have left Lausanne does not signal that the participants of talks have faced "difficulties." "This means that they /ministers/ were scheduled to leave," he explained.

"All the countries of the "group of six" are present at a certain level, and continue the negotiations, they are serious-minded," he said.

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