VIENNA: World powers and Iran struggled yesterday to overcome the differences preventing them from ending a 12-year standoff over Tehran’s atomic ambitions, raising the prospect of another extension to the high-stakes talks.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said “big gaps” remained with two days to go before a self-imposed November 24 deadline for an accord, despite signs of some headway. A European source said the chance of a final deal by tomorrow was “very small”.
The negotiations in Vienna between Tehran and six world powers — the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China — are intended to remove at least one source of potential conflict from the Middle East and its growing turmoil.
Diplomats said a framework accord was still possible, but that weeks or months would then be needed to agree on the all-important details of how it would be implemented. They said continuing the negotiations — which have dragged on for more than a year, accompanied by a partial easing of sanctions — was preferable to letting them collapse and risking renewed tension. However, some said an extension could push the talks into a never-ending cycle of rollovers with few prospects of a final deal. Despite the differences, a senior US State Department official said: “We are continuing to take steps forward.”
“The focus of discussions remains on an agreement, but we are discussing both internally and with our partners a range of options for the best path forward,” the official added, without elaborating on whether these included a possible extension. The European source said there had been “no significant” progress on the main stumbling blocks — Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity and the lifting of the sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear programme.
REUTERS
