NEW YORK. Sept 27 (Interfax) - Iran hopes to reach an agreement with regard to its nuclear program with the P5+1 (five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) within a year, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.
"We agreed to jump-start the process so that we could move forward with a view to agreeing first on the parameters of the end game ... and move toward finalizing it hopefully within a year's time," Zarif said after the talks with the P5+1 held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York.
"I thought I was too ambitious, bordering on naivete. But I saw that some of my colleagues were even more ambitious and wanted to do it faster," he said.
"We hope ... to make sure (there is) no concern that Iran's program is anything but peaceful," the minister told reporters.
Zarif added that sanctions against Iran were counterproductive and inconsistent with international laws.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said during the UN General Assembly debates, "My government is prepared to leave no stone unturned in seeking for a mutually acceptable solution."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he was struck by the "very different tone" from Iran.
"Needless to say, one meeting and a change in tone, that was welcome, does not answer those questions," Kerry told reporters. "All of us were pleased that the foreign minister came today and that he did put some possibilities on the table." He said they agree to continue the process.