Iran denies nuclear deal with US

Iranian Foreign Ministry rejects reports that Tehran and Washington have agreed on shipping Iranian uranium to Russia

Iran’s foreign ministry denied on Saturday media reports that claim Tehran and Washington had agreed on a tentative deal requiring Iranian uranium to be shipped to Russia.

Recent media reports have said that the U.S. and Iran had reached a tentative agreement aimed at reducing Tehran’s nuclear program.

“Such media propaganda is politically motivated and basically aimed at damaging the atmosphere of the nuclear talks and further complicating the process to resolve the nuclear issues,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said, accordıng to the administration’s website.

Iran and six world powers – the U.S., the U.K., China, France, Russia and Germany, also known as the P5+1 group – have been negotiating for a permanent settlement to the Islamic Republic’s nuclear issue for more than a year.

Both sides had failed to meet a Nov. 24 deadline in Vienna for a permanent settlement to the nuclear issue.

The negotiations in the Austrian capital were supposed to be the final round of talks between Iran and the world powers’ group.

However, the deadline for a permanent settlement with Iran was extended until the end of June with the aim of what U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry described as “finishing the political agreement,” by March.

The P5+1 groups want Iran to curb its nuclear program in return for lifting of sanctions.

Tehran argues its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian purposes.

Tehran agreed to limit certain aspects of its controversial nuclear program in exchange for some relief in international sanctions under a deal reached in Nov. 2013 in Geneva.

The next round of talks with Iran will take place in Geneva on Jan. 15.