Araqchi said on Saturday that Iran has never negotiated under pressure and will not do so in future.

He also rejected claims that threats of military attack and economic sanctions have brought the Islamic Republic to the negotiating table.

“We will resume and continue talks with logic and reasoning, and will insist on our stances about protecting the rights of the Iranian people,” Araqchi added.

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain - plus Germany started a new round of expert-level nuclear talks on Wednesday in the Austrian capital of Vienna. The talks ended on Friday.

Araqchi described the expert-level negotiations as “very serious and constructive.”

Experts from Iran and the six world powers are working to hammer out a comprehensive deal following a landmark nuclear accord reached in the Swiss city of Geneva last November. The Geneva deal took effect on January 20.

The next round of the high-level talks between Iran and the P5+1 is to be held in Vienna on March 17.

RA/MB