Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wants to reach an agreement over the country's nuclear program within three months and has full backing to broker a deal from the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, it has been reported.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Rouhani said he was keen to set a three or six-month timetable to seal a nuclear deal, emphasising that Iran envisioned a process lasting "months not years."
"If we are on the issue of the nuclear file, we need resolution in a reasonable time," he told the Post.
"The only way forward is for a timeline to be inserted into the negotiations that's short - and wrap it up. That is a decision of my government, that short is necessary to settle the nuclear file.
"If it's three months that would be Iran's choice, if it's six months that's still good. It's a question of months not years."
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Asked if he had the backing of Khamenei to conclude a deal, Rouhani said "settlement of the nuclear file is one of the responsibilities of my government."
"My government is fully empowered to finalise the nuclear talks," he added.
The United States, other Western powers and Israel suspect Tehran is using its nuclear program as a cover to develop an atomic bomb, something Iran denies.
Rouhani's comments come after signs of improving relations between the United States and Iran following his election earlier this year.
The Iranian leader, however, baulked at meeting US President Barack Obama at the United Nations on Tuesday.
The first major test of the recent promising rhetoric between the foes will come on Thursday, as US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif join counterparts from Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia to discuss Iran's nuclear activities at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
