Official: Iran optimistic on nuclear talks

BEIJING - Teheran is looking forward to the next round of nuclear talks with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany (P5+1) in Istanbul early next year and believes the meeting will bring a promising outcome, a visiting Iranian official said on Thursday.

"We have seen this time (in Geneva) that all parties have managed to sit down and talk instead of threatening each other," said Mohammad Ali Fathollahi, the deputy Iranian Foreign Minister in charge of Asia and Oceania Affairs. He echoed previous Iranian statements, calling the talks with China, France, Russia, Britain, the United States and Germany a "victory".

Iran and the six countries met in Geneva on Monday and Tuesday after a 14-month break. All parties agreed to continue the talks in late January in Turkey, and plan to discuss "practical ideas and ways (for) cooperating toward resolution" of concerns over Iran's nuclear program, said EU chief Catherine Ashton.