Rouhani reiterates full authority in talks with G5+1

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani underlined that his government has full authority from Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei for talks with the world’s six major powers. “The government has sufficient authority to gain substantial results in talks with the Group 5+1 (five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany),” President Rouhani told reporters at a press conference in New York on Friday. “The government has the necessary authority in nuclear talks and I have chosen the foreign minister for talks,” he added. The Iranian president pointed to a recent meeting of foreign ministers of Iran and the six world powers, and said, “The meetings of Dr. Zarif with G5+1’s foreign ministers were held in a positive and inspiring atmosphere and we hope that these talks could soon bear tangible results.” The foreign ministers of Iran and the six world powers said Thursday they were pleased with their New York discussions over the settlement of the Iran-West nuclear standoff, adding that they have set a new round of negotiations for next month in Geneva. The top diplomats of the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) described their meeting with Zarif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly as "a change in tone". European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who chaired the meeting, told reporters it had been “a substantial meeting. Good atmosphere. Energetic”. She said the two sides had agreed on an "ambitious timetable" to address Western concerns about Iran's nuclear program and would meet again in Geneva on October 15-16 “to pursue the agenda to carry on from today's meeting and to hopefully move this process forward”. Ashton also added a note of caution, saying it was important to focus on “effective work that we do on the ground”.