Iranian Foreign Ministry Denies Reports of Nuclear Agreement With US

Tehran and Washington reached no agreement on Iranian nuclear program, Iranian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman said, adding that "such media propaganda" is aimed at damaging the atmosphere of the nuclear talks and complicating the process to resolve the nuclear issue.

MOSCOW, January 3 (Sputnik) — No agreement has been reached between Iran and the United States on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, Iranian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said Saturday, denying earlier media reports.

"Such media propaganda was made with political motivations and is basically aimed at damaging the atmosphere of the nuclear talks and further complicating the process to resolve the nuclear issues," Afkham was cited as saying by the Islamic Republic News Agency.

On Friday, the Associated Press reported, citing diplomatic sources, that Tehran and Washington had tentatively agreed that Iran would reduce its ability to create nuclear arms by shipping a part of the materials needed for such weapons to Russia.

The international community has long expressed concern over Iran's nuclear program, with the West accusing Tehran of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program. The claims have been repeatedly denied by Tehran.

Iran and the P5+1 group, comprising the permanent members of the UN Security Council – Russia, the United States, Britain, France, China – plus Germany, have held several rounds of negotiations in order to reach an agreement on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.

During talks in Geneva in November 2013, the sides agreed to sign a deal with Iranian authorities guaranteeing the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program by July 2014. The deadline was later extended to November, though the parties again failed to reach an agreement, moving the deadline to July 2015.

The next round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 group is scheduled for January 15.