PHOTO: Head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, and US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz in technical talks on Sunday

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Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry renew nuclear talks on Sunday in the Swiss city of Lausanne.

The two sides are seeking a comprehensive deal by an official deadline of July 1 and an unofficial cut-off, set by the US, of March 31.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, will chair the discussions. The lead nuclear negotiators of Iran and the US, as well as the high-level officials heading technical teams, will also be involved.

On Monday, Zarif will travel to Brussels to meet the British, French, and German Foreign Ministers.

Iran has made significant concessions to the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, France, Germany, and Russia) over the number and level of its uranium centrifuges — reportedly agreeing to cut output 40% — and its nuclear fuel held inside the Islamic Republic. However, the Iranians are demanding a quick removal of US-led sanctions, while the Americans reportedly have set a timetable of “years”.

On Sunday morning, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani told MPs, “The Group 5+1 should pay heed that based on Parliament’s approval, any inspection beyond the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty] will be possible only after the removal of sanctions.”

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Kerry continued to press for a resolution in coming days, rather than the formal deadline — agreed last November in an extension of negotiations — of July 31:

We believe very much that there’s not anything that’s going to change in April or May or June that suggests that at that time, a decision you can’t make now will be made then. If it’s peaceful, let’s get it done. And my hope is that in the next days, that will be possible.

Iran’s Currency Strengthens in Expectation of Nuclear Deal

The Iranian Rial has strengthened in expectation of a nuclear deal between Iran and the 5+1 Powers.

Iranian media says the Rial gained another 3% on Sunday to reach 31,800:1 vs. the US dollar.

Two weeks ago, the Rial was 11% weaker at 35,700:1.

Rafsanjani Jabs at Iranian Officials: “You Are Not Allowing Rouhani To Fulfil His Promises”

Days after his failure to become head of the Assembly of Experts, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has tried to regain the political offensive, accusing elements within the Iranian system of not allowing President Rouhani to fulfil his campaign promises.

Rafsanjani is still head of the Expediency Council but his campaign against hardliners was set back on Tuesday when Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi defeated him in the election for chair of the Assembly, which chooses and can nominally remove the Supreme Leader.

The former President said, in an interview published on Saturday, “Political issues and freedoms are not in his hands. Of course, he promised more than his executive power allows. These things are not in his hands.”

He asserted that “they should allow” the president to fulfill these promises, regretting that “centres of power are not assisting” the President even though the people support him.

“US Created Islamic State…and Taliban…and Boko Haram”

The commander of Iran’s ground forces, General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, has explained to a ceremony in Iranian Kurdistan that the US is responsible for most extremist groups in the world.

Pourdastan outlined “a US proxy war against the Muslim world”:

Today, the enemy has taken its mask off and we are facing new threats and should, thus, create the necessary capacities to defuse these threats….

The US has created Takfiri, Islamic State, Taliban, and Boko Haram groups to fight for it in a proxy war against Islam.