US, Iran Cite Progress in Nuke Talks
With 10 days to a nuclear deal deadline, top US and Iranian officials spoke on Saturday of substantial headway, and Iran’s president proclaimed that agreement was within reach. But America’s top diplomat said it was up to Tehran to make the decisions needed to get there.
Iranian President Hassan Rohani said “achieving a deal is possible” by a 31 March target date for a preliminary accord that is meant to lead to a final deal by the end of June that would crimp Tehran’s nuclear programmes in exchange for sanctions relief.
US Secretary of State John Kerry was more circumspect, as he spoke to reporters after six days of negotiations in the Swiss city of Lausanne. The talks, made “substantial progress” he said, but “important gaps remain”.
“We have an opportunity to get this right,” Kerry said, as he urged Iran to make “fundamental decisions” that prove to the world it has no interest in atomic weapons.
In a reflection of the delicate state of negotiations, other officials differed on how close the sides were to a deal.
Top Russian negotiator Sergey Ryabkov and Iran’s atomic energy chief Ali Akbar Salehi said in recent days that technical work was nearly done. But French officials insisted the sides were far from any agreement.
Kerry was departing later on Saturday to meet with European allies in London, in part to ensure unity, before returning to Washington. Kerry said the US and its five negotiating partners – Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia – are “united in our goal, our approach, our resolve and our determination.”
But France, which raised last minute objections to an interim agreement reached with Iran in 2013, could threaten a deal again. It is particularly opposed to providing Iran with quick relief from international sanctions and wants a longer time frame for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activity.
