Iran denies agreement on Arak, Fordow n-sites

Tehran and the six world powers have not made any agreement on Iran's heavy water nuclear power plant of Arak and the underground bunker of Fordow uranium enrichment establishment, a senior Iranian nuclear negotiator said here Thursday.

"In principle, no agreement has been made on any topics pertaining to the nuclear issues of Iran yet. And the difference over Arak heavy water reactor and Fordow uranium enrichment are still in place," said negotiator Abbas Araqchi.

He was reacting to some media speculations on recent remarks of Wendy Sherman, undersecretary of state for political affairs, who said that in the past six months, Iran and powers have made significant and steady progress on key issues.

"The only criterion for the Islamic republic is the country's needs and in the course of the talks decisions will be made based on the country's needs," Araqchi said.

Under an interim deal reached between Iran and the P5+1, including Britain, France, the US, Russia, China and Germany, that went into effect January 20, Iran would suspend some sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for limited sanction relief. The two sides would negotiate over a comprehensive deal within six months.

After six months of negotiations, Iran and the six world powers agreed July 19 to extend their talks until Nov 24, as disagreements remained over Tehran's uranium enrichment capacity, its Arak heavy water reactor and the sanctions following a 16-day negotiations in Vienna, Austria.