US Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday said that it was too soon to tell if tough negotiations with Iran on a deal curtailing its nuclear program will succeed.
On the eve of today’s deadline, which everyone has already acknowledged will slip, Kerry met with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Yukiya Amano.
“We’re just working and it’s too early to make any judgements,” Kerry told reporters when asked if the talks were making progress in Vienna.
Photo: AP
One of the thorniest issues still blocking a deal is ensuring that the UN agency can finally report that Iran’s nuclear program is entirely peaceful.
Iran has long denied seeking to arm itself with a nuclear bomb, but is so far refusing to give the IAEA unparalleled access to sensitive military sites where nuclear research may have been happening.
Global powers — the UK, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US — are seeking to end a 12-year standoff with Iran over its program.
After 20 months of intense talks, which have criss-crossed the globe, the parties have set a deadline of today for a final accord, with several countries saying they are prepared to walk away if Iran cannot meet their demands.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was back in Tehran yesterday after leaving Vienna late on Sunday apparently to consult with the top Islamic leadership, which will have the final say on any deal.
Meanwhile, behind-the-scenes work continued on drawing up what could be one of the world’s most complicated nuclear non-proliferation agreements aimed at putting an atomic bomb out of Iran’s reach.
The text is believed to be at least 20 pages long, accompanied by perhaps as many as five complicated technical annexes.
The deal is unlikely to be reached today, with a US official admitting that everyone was planning to stay beyond the deadline day.
However, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherin spoke for many late on Sunday when she said there would be no formal months-long extension, adding “postponement is not an option.”
“I would say that the political will is there. I’ve seen it from all sides,” Mogherini said, adding “we have conditions now to close the deal” and that there were only a couple of points outstanding which needed political decisions.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong (李保) told reporters in Vienna that a comprehensive deal could be possible within one week, saying all sides were only “steps away,” Xinhua news agency reported.
In other developments, US President Barack Obama recently sent a private message to Iran’s leadership via Iraq’s prime minister, an Iranian newspaper reported yesterday.
Hamshahri, Iran’s highest-circulation daily paper, citing a lawmaker, said “one of the leaders of a neighboring country” took the message from Obama to officials in Tehran.
The subject discussed was the nuclear talks, it said without giving further details on its content.
The newspaper suggested that the message bearer was Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who met Obama on June 8 on the sidelines of a G7 summit in Germany.
In other developments, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday said he planned to meet with Kerry in Vienna today for talks on terrorism and fighting the Islamic State group.
“Our delegation will head to Vienna where tomorrow we have talks planned with John Kerry,” Lavrov said, without referring to the Iran talks under way in Vienna.
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