No guarantee still on Iran n-programme talks

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton Sunday said there is "no guarantee" that Iran and the world powers will succeed in reaching a final agreement in their nuclear talks.

Ashton hailed the interim nuclear agreement as "important" at a joint press conference in Tehran with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif, Xinhua reported.

She said the interim deal was "not as important as a comprehensive accord", adding that reaching a final agreement with Iran was "difficult, challenging, and there is no guarantee that we will succeed".

She hoped that with the support of the Iranian people to their administration and that of the international community for the talks that she was leading, a comprehensive agreement would be reached.

Zarif said Iran "will accept an accord which respects Iranians' rights" in the nuclear talks.

The Iranian foreign minister confirmed Iran's political will to tackle the nuclear issue, adding that it depended on the other party to be committed to its obligations to solve the problem at the negotiation table.

He reiterated that "Iran is not after a nuclear weapon".

Iranian officials hailed "advancement" in the recent expert-level nuclear talks, as Ashton made her first visit to Iran Saturday.