Iran Nuclear Talks Result Doubted Year After Geneva Breakthrough
Diplomats wrangling over Irans nuclear program risk missing their self-imposed deadline for a final accord, casting doubt on the outcome of the talks one year after they began.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif meets with his European Union counterpart, Catherine Ashton, in Vienna today and the two will be joined tomorrow by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. The talks, which began Oct. 15 last year in Geneva and yielded an interim agreement that is still in place, are scheduled to conclude by Nov. 24, giving the sides a six-week window.
We are not going back to where we were a year ago, Irans President Hassan Rouhani said last night in an interview on state television. How we will make progress and whether the agreement will be finalized in these remaining 40 days, whether some parts will remain, whether it will be extended or not -- these are matters that are being discussed.
The decade-long dispute over Irans nuclear ambitions has cast the specter of military conflict over the Persian Gulf nation, home to the worlds No. 4 oil reserves. Israel has said its prepared to strike Iran to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons. Iran has repeatedly said it doesnt want a bomb and international monitors have confirmed its declared stockpiles of nuclear material remain in peaceful uses.
Officials from other world powers involved in the negotiations -- China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.K. -- will join the negotiations on Oct. 16, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said today, according to the Interfax news service. Russia, which has a pending oil-for-goods deal with Iran, still sees the possibility of a final accord before the deadline, he said.
Mistrust over Irans intentions looms large, especially amid the latest Middle East conflagration. Iran is seen by Israel as a greater threat than Islamic State, the militant group that has captured swaths of Syria and Iraq and is the target of a U.S.-led bombing campaign.
It appears increasingly likely there will not be a comprehensive agreement on Irans nuclear program by the late-November deadline, Gary Samore, a former U.S. nuclear negotiator who now works at Harvard University, said in an online interview. An extension of the talks could be possible, said Samore, who is also president of United Against Nuclear Iran, the New York-based lobbyist.
Iran too has been positioning itself for failure. Without progress during this two-day round, the sides definitely wont reach the final accord in the time they have left to them, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Oct. 11. He too said that the talks could be extended.
There is a general agreement on main elements but what was discussed in recent rounds of negotiations were the details, Zarif said after arriving in Vienna, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency. Agreement over the scale of Irans uranium-enrichment program along with a timeline for full sanctions relief is still being sought, he said.
The interim agreement signed in Geneva gave Iran limited sanctions relief in exchange for caps on the countrys uranium enrichment. Iran has eliminated the stockpile of its most sensitive nuclear material and its economy has returned to growth. International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors have received wider access to Iranian nuclear facilities to ensure it doesnt divert material that could be used for weapons.
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Iran Nuclear Talks Result Doubted Year After Geneva Breakthrough