Iran's nuclear talks with the world powers should lead to the removal of sanctions against the Islamic republic all at once, Iranian nuclear negotiator Majid Takht-e- Ravanchi said on Tuesday.
Tehran is opposed to any gradual lifting of the bans and "will not agree to the sanctions being removed one by one," Takht-e- Ravanchi, also deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs, was quoted as saying by Press TV.
Iran will not accept the classification of sanctions into economic, commercial and political categories, he said, adding that "the West must remove the sanctions against Iran all at once. "
Criticizing the West for making excessive demands in the talks over settling the nuclear issue, Takht-e-Ravanchi said it is the time for the West to make a "tough decision" regarding a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran.
Western countries seem to be interested in settling Iran's nuclear issue but there are still people who, as before, seek to disrupt the process of nuclear talks, he was quoted as saying.
The Iranian official added that Tehran is not seeking to extend the nuclear talks and is trying to reach a comprehensive deal with the so-called P5+1 group, namely Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany, before the Nov. 24 deadline.
Iran and the P5+1 group agreed in July to extend the talks for another four months till Nov. 24, as they could not narrow down significant gaps on core issues during the past six months.
The two sides met again recently in Austria's Vienna without any major breakthrough. Next round of meeting between Iran and the powers will be on Nov. 18 in Vienna, according to semi-official ISNA news agency.