Next Round of Iran Nuclear Talks Scheduled for December 17: EU

BRUSSELS, December 12 (Sputnik) – Another round of talks between Iran and a group of international mediators on Tehran's nuclear program will be held in Geneva on December 17, the European Union's diplomatic service said Friday.

"The Political Directors of the E3/EU+3 [P5+1] and Iran will meet again on 17 December 2014 in Geneva for a one-day meeting to continue diplomatic efforts towards reaching a long-term, comprehensive solution," the EU External Action Service said in press release.

The Iranian delegation is planning to hold a series of bilateral meetings ahead of the talks. Iran has also announced its intention to negotiate with the US delegation separately.

The latest round of nuclear talks between Iran and the E3/EU+3, mostly known as the P5+1 group, was held in Vienna on November 18-24 and failed to produce a comprehensive deal on Iran's nuclear program before the November 24 deadline. The group of mediators, comprising Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Germany, agreed to continue the discussions until July 2015.

Iran has been repeatedly accused by Western countries of surreptitiously developing nuclear weapons. In light of suspicions about Tehran's uranium enrichment program, the UN Security Council, the European Union, the United States and a number of other countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Iran. Iranian officials have repeatedly denied the accusations, stating that the country's nuclear program is peaceful in nature and aimed at satisfying domestic energy needs.