Iran says EU office in Tehran "unlikely" in near future

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said Monday that reality did not live up to expectations for opening a European Union (EU) office in Tehran in the near future.

"The issue of an EU office in Iran has been mooted by Europeans since a year ago, and we are now studying it. We have no definite time for opening the office," Qasemi said during his weekly press conference.

There still is no "precise and comprehensive view" regarding opening such an office in Tehran, but a new round of negotiations between Iran and the EU will kick off on Wednesday between deputy ministers, he was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

"Negotiations with the EU are broad, long, time-consuming and complicated, however, we consider the talks per se as positive in finding common grounds for cooperation," he said.

Iran's Foreign Ministry has previously proposed plans for "comprehensive negotiations" with the EU which focus on various topics, including human rights issues in Iran.