Talks between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian foreign minister Mohammed Javad Zarif on Iran's nuclear program and the threat the Islamic State (ISIL) pose resumed last Thursday, but the two issues were discussed separately.

According to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity, Kerry and Zarif met in New York just as heads of states arrived to attend the United Nations General Assembly annual meeting.

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Andrew Tabler, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East policy, said the Iranians persistently wanted to link the Nuclear project and the ISIL problem in the Middle East.

However, Tabler said U.S. top officials did not let both issues affect their decision regarding the nuclear project of Iran.

He added that the U.S. officials were firm on not wanting Iranians to be "horse trading" on both issues.

Five other countries have spoken with the United States regarding the nuclear program of Iran including Germany, Russia, France, the UK and China. They gave Iran an extension from the original date last July to November 24 of this year.

The agreement was intended to lessen the nuclear-related machineries Iran is using because that will allow the country to harvest enough uranium create a nuclear bomb.

In a statement by Araghchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, he said that the atmosphere during the meeting last week was "excellent".

Araghchi also addressed the ISIL threat during the UN Security Council meeting.

As for the U.S., an official briefly said they are feeling "optimistic" that Iran will soon be decreasing their enrichment program and will soon be settling for the said agreement. However, they did not talk about any other details regarding the meeting.

Meanwhile, some U.S. officials do not believe that Iran will fullfil the agreement by November. Two officials who requested anonymity said the Iranian leaders are just "stalling" the talks that will allow them to harvest enough uranium to develop their nuclear weapons.

If Iran fails to reach the agreement at the agreed deadline, U.S. lawmakers will push for new and stricter sanctions. Also, according to U.S. President Barack Obama, Israel's viewpoint regarding military strikes against Iran's nuclear project will not be ruled out.

Tagspolitics, Iran, Foreign relations of Iran, Iran-United States relations