US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart were yesterday scheduled to launch a new high-stakes diplomatic drive to nail down an unprecedented nuclear deal as they hurtle toward a deadline just one month away.
US officials said the weeks leading to June 30 would be intense, vowing to “keep the pressure on” to force the Iranians and everyone at the table to make the “tough decisions” needed to end a 12-year standoff and put a nuclear bomb beyond Iran’s reach.
Sealing a long-elusive deal with the Islamic Republic could prove to be US President Barack Obama’s lasting foreign policy achievement.
After three decades of enmity, it might also pave the way toward better ties between Washington and the Shiite regional power, bringing Iran back into the international fold and creating fresh impetus to resolve a host of conflicts that have grown ever more perilous in the Middle East.
Kerry and Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif are to meet once again in Geneva, as the US with its P5+1 partners — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — seek to finalize the complex pact.
Kerry tweeted that he had arrived in the Swiss city for his meeting with Zarif, after attending the inauguration of new Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.
After an interim accord hammered out in Geneva in November 2013, the US and Iran are grappling with the final details of the ground-breaking agreement, which would see Iran curtail its nuclear ambitions in return for a lifting of a web of international sanctions.
The two diplomats were due to meet yesterday, but US officials did not rule out that the talks could stretch into a second day as the clock ticks down to the deadline.
After eight days of emotional, tough talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, the delegations on April 2 unveiled a framework to guide the last stretch of negotiations, with Iran agreeing to rein in and mothball large sections of its nuclear program.
However, differences remain, while both the US and Iran are under immense pressure from hardliners at home.
“We have a month left. I do think you’ll see it escalate at the political level,” a senior US Department of State official told reporters on Friday, saying Kerry wanted to meet with Zarif to discuss the “really tough sticking issues.”
Next month is “going to be a pretty intense month both at the expert level and the secretary’s level, but I think we definitely still believe we can do it,” the official said.
Since the April 2 accord, technical experts have been meeting quietly behind the scenes to overcome the remaining issues. However, many of the decisions now need to be made at a political level.
And despite rumblings from both Iranian and French officials that the talks might drag on beyond June 30, US officials insisted that was not on the table.
“We’ve been very clear that we are not contemplating an extension at this point. June 30th is a real date,” the State Department official said.
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