Geneva, December 18 (RHC)-- Senior officials from Iran and the P5+1 group continue negotiations over Tehran's nuclear energy program in the Swiss city of Geneva. Nuclear negotiators from Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Russia, China, France, Britain and the United States -- plus Germany held extensive meetings for the second consecutive day in Geneva on Tuesday.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araqchi gave a positive assessment of the dominant atmosphere of the Geneva negotiations. He said that "detailed discussions about all outstanding issues, especially sanctions," were held in the deputy and expert-level talks.

This round of the talks, the first after the seven-month extension of the nuclear talks, will continue on Wednesday three weeks after Tehran and the six countries failed to reach a final agreement by a November 24th deadline.

Despite making progress, Iran and the P5+1 group failed to clinch a final nuclear deal during their previous talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna. However, the two sides agreed to extend their discussions for seven more months until July 1st next year. They also agreed that the interim deal they had signed in Geneva last November remain in place during the negotiations.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani says that the West has no other choice but to lift the "cruel" sanctions against the Islamic Republic.