VIENNA: Iran and the United States yesterday intensified efforts to overcome deep divisions in talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme days ahead of a deadline for agreement.
With the deadline for a deal to defuse a 12-year stand-off over Iran’s nuclear ambitions due to expire on Monday, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif unexpectedly met for a second time in Vienna yesterday evening.
The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China began a final round of talks with Iran on Tuesday, looking to clinch a pact under which Tehran would curb its nuclear work to help ensure it cannot be diverted to bomb-making in exchange for a lifting of economically crippling sanctions.
But officials close to the negotiations said at mid-week the two sides remained deadlocked on key issues, were unlikely to secure a definitive accord by November 24, and might need to extend the deadline. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kerry agreed that “additional efforts” were needed to reach a deal by the self-imposed deadline, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said after separate meetings with big power peers in Vienna: “These are complex issues and there are still significant gaps between the parties. Zarif cancelled announced plans to return to Tehran for top-level discussions with the deadline looming, Iranian media reported. The reason for his reversal of course was not immediately known.
US officials said Kerry would still travel to Paris after his meeting with Zarif. Kerry spoke on the telephone with Lavrov yesterday and the two men agreed that “additional efforts” were needed to secure a deal by Monday, Moscow’s Foreign Ministry said.
Western diplomats said earlier this week that a US-drafted proposal shown to Iran at preparatory talks in Oman earlier this month called for the Islamic Republic to reduce the number of its uranium enrichment centrifuges to 4,500, well below the current 19,000 Tehran now has installed.
Iran has about 10,000 of those machines in operation. Iranian officials have refused to reduce the volume of uranium they are capable of enriching. This is a major sticking point in the talks. Another sticking point is the pace and sequencing of sanctions relief. Iran wants them terminated swiftly, not suspended and gradually scrapped, depending on the degree of Iranian compliance with the deal terms, as the West wants.
Another dispute is over the deal’s duration — the powers want it to be up to 20 years, Iran wants this much shorter.
Reuters
